Born in Ghana and raised in the Netherlands, Boateng made four appearances for the Netherlands national team.
Club career
Feyenoord
Boateng was born in Nkawkaw, Ghana. He spent some of his childhood in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, where he played football barefoot despite having boots and rocky pitches. He was raised in the Netherlands from age 10 after his father remarried. At 16, he signed for Feyenoord, where he was a utility player, being used in all positions except goalkeeper, left winger and centre forward.[2][3]
Coventry City
Boateng watched a 4–3 game between Liverpool and Newcastle United in April 1996, convincing him about English football's quality.[2] With six months left of his Feyenoord contract and a four-year extension being offered, he completed a £250,000 move to Coventry City in December 1997. Manager Gordon Strachan signed him on a 31⁄2-year deal.[2] He scored his first goal for the Sky Blues on 2 May 1998, in a 2–0 home win over Blackburn Rovers.[4] On 27 February 1999, he and John Aloisi scored twice each in a 4–1 win away to fellow West Midlands club Aston Villa – his team's first ever league win at Villa Park.[5]
Aston Villa
In July 1999, Boateng signed for Aston Villa for a £4.5 million fee. The club had previously bid £3 million after he had scored twice against them. Coventry chairman Bryan Richardson accused Villa manager John Gregory of making illegal approaches for Boateng. Gregory said that Richardson approached Villa to tell them they could buy Boateng for £5 million, opening up negotiations again.[6]
Gregory played 131 matches for Villa, including the 2000 FA Cup final, which his team lost by a single goal to Chelsea.[7] On 20 April 2002, away to Leicester City, opponent Paul Dickov's boot came off, and Boateng threw it into the crowd. He apologised for his actions and was warned by manager Graham Taylor.[8] Boateng missed only one game in 2001–02, but immediately requested a transfer once the season ended.[9]
Middlesbrough
In the summer of 2002, a potential move to Liverpool collapsed, while negotiations with Fulham slowed down. Boateng moved to Middlesbrough for £5 million. He said he was initially hesitant because he found Boro an easy team to play against. Still, he was convinced when Netherlands teammate Jaap Stam spoke highly of manager Steve McClaren, who had been assistant manager when Stam was at Manchester United.[10]
In June 2006, after negotiations of nearly a year, Boateng signed a new three-year contract.[14] He was named captain the following month after Gareth Southgate retired and became manager.[16] In the 2007–08 season, Southgate gave the captain's armband to Julio Arca in December and then Emmanuel Pogatetz in March, saying he wanted to move away from having one permanent captain.[17]
Hull City
Newly promoted Premier League club Hull City announced on 10 July 2008 that Boateng had agreed to sign a two-year contract with them, for an undisclosed fee.[18] After completing a medical, the move was completed on 16 July for an estimated fee of £1 million.[19]
On 6 February 2010, Boateng scored his first goal for Hull City in a 2–1 win over Manchester City, their first win since November 2009.[20]
Boateng's contract with Hull City ended following their relegation from the Premier League in 2010. He was runner-up to Stephen Hunt for the Player of the Year award.[21]
Later career
After holding talks with Celtic,[22] Boateng joined Greek side Skoda Xanthi on a two-year deal in July 2010.[23]
On 27 July 2011, Boateng joined Nottingham Forest of the Football League Championship on a one-year deal. He reunited with former Middlesbrough manager McClaren, while former Dutch international and Middlesbrough teammate Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was first-team coach.[24] He played 7 games in total for Forest, scoring an added-time equaliser in a 2–2 draw with East Midlands rivals Leicester City on 20 August.[25]
On 15 November 2012, Boateng arrived in Malaysia to sign with T-Team.[26] Four days later, he signed a one-year contract, linking him again with former Hull teammate and Republic of Ireland international Caleb Folan.
Boateng played four senior games for the Netherlands, each in a friendly match in a different year.[28] He debuted on 10 November 2001 in a 1–1 draw away to Denmark, playing the full 90 minutes.[29] On 12 November 2005, he ended 31⁄2 years without a cap by coming on as a substitute in a 3–1 home loss to Italy at the Amsterdam ArenA.[30]
Managerial career
Kelantan
In 2014, Boateng was unveiled as the new head coach of Kelantan, replacing Steve Darby, who had been shown the door after a 4–0 loss to Sime Darby[31] On 6 May 2014, Kelantan came back from 3–0 down to draw 3–3 with Felda United in first leg of the Malaysia FA Cup semi-final in Boateng's first game as head coach.[32] Boateng apologised to the Kelantan fans after Kelantan were knocked out of the Malaysia Cup by Kedah with 4–3 aggregate; reports were saying that he would step down from his role as Kelantan head coach the following season, but that proved to be wrong by Kelantan President, Annuar Musa.[33][34] He was moved to the Technical Director position on 24 March 2015, and his position as head coach was taken by Mohd Azraai Khor Abdullah.[35] Boateng left his post as technical director of Kelantan on 11 May 2015 to work as a coach or manager again.
Blackburn Rovers
On 5 September 2018, Boateng signed on as Under-13s head coach at Championship club Blackburn Rovers, where he coached different age groups at the academy.[36]
Aston Villa
On 29 July 2019, it was announced that Boateng had left Rovers to take up a position as Aston Villa Under-18 Professional Development Coach.[37]
In September 2020, Boateng was promoted to become the Professional Development Coach of the under 23 squad at Aston Villa.[38]
On 26 August 2022, Boateng announced that he would be leaving his role at Aston Villa to focus on his role with the Ghana national team in the build-up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup that winter.[39]
On 1 July 2024, Boateng returned to another of his former clubs, being appointed first-team coach at Coventry City.[41]
On 28 November 2024, Boateng departed the club following the appointment of Frank Lampard as manager.[42]
Personal life
Boateng is a devout Christian who says his faith affects how he conducts himself.[43] In an interview with Church Times, he stated: "My family and I have become very devoted Christians. Hearing and acting on the Word is very important."[44]
Career statistics
Club
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[45]
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