Chancel Mbemba

Chancel Mbemba

Mbemba with DR Congo at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations
Personal information
Full name	Chancel Mangulu Mbemba [1]
Date of birth	(1994-08-08) 8 August 1994 (age 30) [2]
Place of birth	Kinshasa, Zaire
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) [3]
Position(s)	Centre-back, full-back
Team information
Current team	Marseille
Number	99
Youth career
2006–2007	E.S. La Grace
2007–2008	Mputu
2008–2012	MK Etanchéité
2012–2013	Anderlecht
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2013–2015	Anderlecht	63	(6)
2015–2018	Newcastle United	54	(1)
2018–2022	Porto	87	(5)
2022–	Marseille	61	(7)
International career‡
2012–	DR Congo	90	(6)
Medal record Men's Football Representing   DR Congo Africa Cup of Nations 2015 Equatorial Guinea
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19 May 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16 November 2024

Chancel Mangulu Mbemba (born 8 August 1994) is a Congolese professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or full-back for Ligue 1 club Marseille and serves as captain for the DR Congo national team.

Mbemba began his professional career Anderlecht, where he won the Belgian Pro League in his debut season of 2013–14. A year later, he moved to Newcastle United, where he played in the Premier League and won the Championship in 2017. In four years at Porto, he won the Primeira Liga and Taça de Portugal double in 2020 and 2022.

A full international for DR Congo since 2012, Mbemba has earned 90 caps and represented the country at five Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, finishing third in 2015.

Early life

Mbemba grew up in Kinshasa in a family of nine children. His mother, Antoinette, is a former basketball player who represented DR Congo. ^{[4] [5]}

A 2013 report by CNN found that documents support four different dates of birth for Mbemba from 1988 to 1994, with the player saying himself that he was born in 1990; an anonymous member of the Congolese Association Football Federation said that his date of birth was changed to 1991 so that he would be eligible for the 2012 Olympics where players must be under 23. ^[6] Upon signing for Newcastle, he said that he was born in 1994 and that there was forensic proof. ^[7]

Club career

Anderlecht

After playing youth football for several clubs including E.S. La Grace and FC MK Etanchéité in Kinshasa, Mbemba joined Belgian club Anderlecht in 2012. ^[4] Upon moving, he mainly played with Anderlecht reserve and youth teams, and requested to have a bone scan to dispel rumours that he was older than he actually was. ^[6]

On 21 July 2013, Mbemba was an unused substitute as Anderlecht won the Belgian Super Cup 1–0 against Genk. ^[8] He made his debut a week later in their opening match of the Belgian Pro League season, a 3–2 home defeat to Lokeren. ^[9] He scored five goals in 35 games of a league-winning campaign, starting by concluding a 2–0 win at Mons on 18 October, a contribution to becoming the league's Player of the Month. ^[10]

Mbemba played in the 2014 Belgian Super Cup, a 2–1 win over Lokeren. he made 28 appearances during the 2014–15 season as they finished in third spot in the league, and runners-up in the 2014–15 Belgian Cup, losing 1–2 to Club Brugge in the final. ^[11]

Newcastle United

Mbemba (left) and Chelsea's Eden Hazard in 2017

On 26 July 2015, Premier League side Newcastle United announced the signing of Mbemba. ^[12] Four days later, he signed a five-year contract with the club. ^[13] He made his debut on 9 August on the first day of the Premier League season, starting in a 2–2 home draw with Southampton. ^[14]

He scored his only goal for the club on 7 May 2017 against Barnsley in a 3–0 home win, on the same day that Newcastle clinched the EFL Championship title a year after relegation. ^[15]

Porto

On 23 July 2018, Primeira Liga side Porto signed Mbemba for a reported £7.14 million fee. ^[16] He made his debut on 31 October in a 4–2 home win over Varzim in the group stage of the Taça da Liga, with manager Sérgio Conceição sending out a completely different team to the previous league game. ^[17] Four days later he made his Primeira Liga bow as an 80th-minute substitute for striker Yacine Brahimi in a 2–0 victory at Marítimo; ^[18] he played only two more league games that season, one of which was a start in a 3–1 win over Nacional at the Estádio do Dragão on 7 January 2019. ^[19] He also played two matches for the reserve team in LigaPro. ^{[20] [21]}

Mbemba scored his first goal for the Dragons on 24 November 2019, opening a 4–0 home win over Vitória de Setúbal that qualified his team to the last 16 of the Taça de Portugal. ^[22] The following 7 March, he was on the scoreboard for the first time in the league, in a 1–1 draw with Rio Ave at the same venue; ^[23] his team ended the season as champions. ^[24] On 1 August 2020, Mbemba scored both goals of a 2–1 win over Benfica in the Taça de Portugal Final. ^[25]

Marseille

On 15 July 2022, Mbemba signed a three-year contract with Marseille on a free transfer. ^[26] He made his debut on 7 August as the Ligue 1 season began with a 4–1 home win over Reims, ^[27] and scored his first goal in his third game on 20 August to open a 2–1 win over Nantes also at the Stade Vélodrome. ^[28] On 7 September, he was sent off in a 2–0 Champions League loss at Tottenham Hotspur for a professional foul on Son Heung-min. ^[29]

International career

Mbemba made his debut for the DR Congo on 17 June 2012, in a 3–0 home win over the Seychelles at the Stade des Martyrs in Kinshasa, in 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualification. ^[30] He was an unused member of Claude Le Roy's squad for the finals. ^[31] He was part of the squad that came third at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea, and scored a penalty in the shootout win over the hosts for the bronze medal. ^[32]

On 13 October 2015, Mbemba scored his first international goal, a late long-distance winner in a 2–1 friendly against Gabon in Visé, Belgium. ^[33] He also went to the Africa Cup of Nations in 2017 and 2019; in the latter in Egypt he scored a late header in a 2–2 draw with Madagascar in the last 16, though his team lost in a shootout. ^[34]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 19 May 2024 ^{[35] [36]}

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup [a]		League cup [b]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Anderlecht	2013–14	Belgian Pro League	35	5	0	0	—		5 [c]	1	0	0	40	6
	2014–15		28	1	2	0	—		6 [c]	2	1 [d]	0	37	3
	Total		63	6	2	0	0	0	11	3	1	0	77	9
Newcastle United	2015–16	Premier League	33	0	1	0	1	0	—		—		35	0
	2016–17	Championship	12	1	0	0	1	0	—		—		13	1
	2017–18	Premier League	9	0	1	0	1	0	—		—		11	0
	Total		54	1	2	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	59	1
Porto B	2018–19	Liga Portugal 2	2	0	—		—		—		—		2	0
Porto	2018–19	Primeira Liga	3	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
	2019–20		26	2	6	4	5	0	5 [e]	0	—		42	6
	2020–21		27	1	4	0	1	0	10 [c]	0	1 [f]	0	43	1
	2021–22		31	2	6	0	1	0	9 [g]	0	—		47	2
	Total		87	5	18	4	8	0	24	0	1	0	138	9
Marseille	2022–23	Ligue 1	36	5	4	0	—		5 [c]	2	—		45	7
	2023–24		25	2	0	0	—		15 [h]	4	—		40	6
	Total		61	7	4	0	—		20	6	—		85	13
Career total			267	19	26	4	11	0	55	9	2	0	361	31

1. Includes Belgian Cup, FA Cup, Taça de Portugal, Coupe de France
2. Includes EFL Cup, Taça da Liga
3. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
4. Appearance in Belgian Super Cup
5. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
6. Appearance in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
7. Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, four appearances in UEFA Europa League
8. Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, thirteen appearances and four goals in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 16 November 2024 ^[37]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
DR Congo	2012	2	0
	2013	2	0
	2014	4	0
	2015	14	1
	2016	7	0
	2017	11	2
	2018	4	0
	2019	10	1
	2020	2	0
	2021	8	0
	2022	2	0
	2023	8	0
	2024	16	2
Total		90	6

Scores and results list DR Congo's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mbemba goal. ^[37]

List of international goals scored by Chancel Mbemba

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	12 October 2015	Stade de la Cité de l'Oie, Visé, Belgium	Gabon	2–1	2–1	Friendly
2	10 June 2017	Stade des Martyrs, Kinshasa, DR Congo	Congo	3–1	1–1	2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
3	5 September 2017	Stade des Martyrs, Kinshasa, DR Congo	Tunisia	1–0	2–2	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
4	7 July 2019	Alexandria Stadium, Alexandria, Egypt	Madagascar	2–2	2–2 (2–4 p)	2019 Africa Cup of Nations
5	10 January 2024	Baniyas Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	Burkina Faso	1–2	1–2	Friendly
6	2 February 2024	Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan, Ivory Coast	Guinea	1–1	3–1	2023 Africa Cup of Nations

Honours

Mbemba (number 18) on his Newcastle debut in August 2015

Anderlecht

• Belgian Pro League: 2013–14 ^[35]
• Belgian Super Cup: 2013, 2014 ^[35]
• Belgian Cup runner-up: 2014–15 ^[35]

Newcastle United

• Championship: 2016–17 ^[35]

Porto

• Primeira Liga: 2019–20 ^[38] 2021–22
• Taça de Portugal: 2019–20, ^[39] 2021–22
• Taça da Liga runner-up: 2018–19, 2019–20 ^[35]
• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2018, ^[35] 2020 ^[40]

DR Congo ^[41]

• Africa Cup of Nations bronze: 2015

Individual

• Primeira Liga Defender of the Month: January 2022 ^[42]
• Primeira Liga Team of the Year: 2021–22 ^[43]
• UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2022–23 ^[44]
• Prix Marc-Vivien Foé: 2022–23 ^[45]
• CAF Team of the Year: 2023, ^[46] 2024 ^[47]
• Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament: 2023 ^[48]

References

1. "Squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 1 September 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
2. "Mbemba". Olympique de Marseille. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
3. "Chancel Mbemba: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
4. Thirion, Xavier (9 November 2013). "Mbemba: "Je veux marquer l'histoire d'Anderlecht"" [Mbemba: "I want to make a mark on the history of Anderlecht"]. L'Avenir (in French). Retrieved 23 July 2015.
5. Douglas, Mark (23 July 2015). "Newcastle United new boy Chancel Mbemba's remarkable back story marks him out as a future star". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
6. Sinnott, John; Molina, Romain (4 February 2013). "Football's age fraud: FIFA probes player with 'four birthdays'". CNN. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
7. "Mbemba clarifies date of birth". FourFourTwo. 13 August 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
8. Da Silva Costa, Christophe (21 July 2013). "EN DIRECT: Déjà un titre pour les Mauves (1-0)" [LIVE: A title already for the Purples (1-0)] (in French). 7 sur 7. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
9. "Congo DR – C. Mbemba – Profile with news, career statistics and history – Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
10. Dosseh, Benoit (3 November 2013). "Chancel Mbemba : le congolais élu meilleur joueur du mois d'octobre de Pro League" [Chancel Mbemba: the Congolese voted October's Player of the Month in the Pro League] (in French). Africa Top Sports. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
11. "Club Brugge 2–1 Anderlecht". Soccerway. 22 March 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
12. "Chancel Mbemba Deal Moves Closer" (Press release). Newcastle United. 26 July 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
13. "Mbemba Joins United" (Press release). Newcastle United. 30 July 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
14. Sheen, Tom (10 August 2015). "Chancel Mbemba makes memorable entrance on Newcastle debut - arriving in a tuxedo". The Independent. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
15. "Newcastle 3–0 Barnsley". BBC. 7 May 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
16. "Chancel Mbemba: Porto sign defender from Newcastle". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
17. Esteves Teixeira, Sofia (31 October 2018). "Mbemba titular no F. C. Porto frente ao Varzim" [Mbemba starter for FC Porto against Varzim]. Jornal de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 30 June 2020.
18. "Portugal : Porto et Brahimi assurent face à Maritimo" (in French). Le Buteur. 4 November 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
19. Esteves Teixeira, Sofia (7 January 2019). "Mbemba titular no F. C. Porto frente ao Nacional" [Mbemba starter for FC Porto against Nacional]. Jornal de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 30 June 2020.
20. "FC Porto B-Académica, 3-0: Dragões vencem e deixam último lugar" [FC Porto B 3–0 Académica: Dragons win and leave last place]. Record (in Portuguese). 8 December 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
21. "Mbemba, João Pedro, Marius, Bruno Costa e André Pereira titulares no FC Porto B" [Mbemba, João Pedro, Marius, Bruno Costa and André Pereira starters for FC Porto B]. Record (in Portuguese). 3 March 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
22. "Dragões apuram-se para os oitavos da Taça de Portugal" [Dragons qualify for the last 16 of the Taça de Portugal]. Correio da Manhã (in Portuguese). 24 January 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
23. "Nervy times at the top". The Portugal News. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
24. "Juventus held by Sassuolo in thriller, Porto win Primeira Liga title". The Guardian. Reuters. 16 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
25. "Porto defeat Benfica to win 17th Portuguese Cup". Yahoo! Sports. Archived from the original on 8 August 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
26. "TRANSFER WRAP: Ekitike to PSG, Mbemba to OM". Ligue 1. 18 July 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
27. "OM: New recruits step up!". Ligue 1. 10 August 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
28. "10-man Marseille beat Nantes on Alexis' home debut". Ligue 1. 20 August 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
29. McNulty, Phil (7 September 2022). "Tottenham Hotspur 2–0 Marseille". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
30. "Eliminatoires-Can 2013: la RDC élimine les Seychelles, 3-0" [2013 ACN qualifiers: DR Congo eliminates the Seychelles, 3–0] (in French). Radio Okapi. 17 June 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
31. Kobo, Kingsley (9 January 2013). "DR Congo publish Afcon 2013 squad". Goal. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
32. "I knew DR Congo would win Nations Cup shootout: Chancel Mbemba". Zee News. 8 February 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
33. Waugh, Chris (13 October 2015). "Watch Newcastle United defender Chancel Mbemba score 30-yard stunner for DR Congo". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
34. "Africa Cup of Nations: Madagascar beat DR Congo in shootout as dream goes on". The Guardian. 7 July 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
35. Chancel Mbemba at Soccerway
36. "Chancel Mbemba". Soccerbase. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
37. "Mbemba, Chancel". National Football Teams. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
38. "FC Porto é o campeão nacional 2019/2020" [FC Porto is the 2019/2020 national champion] (in Portuguese). Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. 16 July 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
39. "Taça de Portugal: FC Porto conquista "dobradinha"" [Portuguese Cup: FC Porto wins "double"] (in Portuguese). Deutsche Welle. 2 August 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
40. "FC Porto bate Benfica e conquista Supertaça pela 22ª vez" [FC Porto beats Benfica and conquers Super Cup for the 22nd time] (in Portuguese). O Jogo. 23 December 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
41. "2015 Nations Cup: Yannick Bolasie in DR Congo squad". BBC Sport. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
42. "Best of January: Mbemba won the Liga Portugal bwin Defender of the Month award". Liga Portugal. 14 February 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
43. "Liga Nos Team of the season". A Bola . Archived from the original on 29 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
44. "Messi, Rongier, Danso... L'équipe type de la saison de Ligue 1". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 29 May 2023.
45. "DR Congo's Chancel Mbemba wins FRANCE 24-RFI award for best African player in Ligue 1". France 24. 30 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
46. "Osimhen, Oshoala named African Men's and Women's Player of the Year at the CAF Awards 2023". CAF. 11 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
47. "Lookman, Banda and Williams are big winners at 2024 CAF Awards in Marrakech, Morocco". CAF. 16 December 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
48. "CAF TSG Group releases TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nation Cote d'Ivoire 2023 Best XI". CAF Online. Confederation of African Football. 14 February 2024. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.

External links

• Chancel Mbemba at Soccerway
• Chancel Mbemba Mangulu's profile at RSCA.be
• Chancel Mbemba – French league stats at Ligue 1 – also available in French