Jonathan Bamba

Jonathan Bamba

Bamba playing for Paris FC in 2016
Personal information
Full name	Jonathan Fousseni Bamba
Date of birth	(1996-03-26) 26 March 1996 (age 28) [1]
Place of birth	Alfortville, France
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) [2]
Position(s)	Left winger, attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team	Chicago Fire
Youth career
2002–2005	CA Paris
2005–2011	UJA Alfortville
2011–2015	Saint-Étienne
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2013–2015	Saint-Étienne B	51	(12)
2015–2018	Saint-Étienne	42	(8)
2016	→ Paris FC (loan)	14	(0)
2016	→ Sint-Truiden (loan)	8	(2)
2017	→ Angers (loan)	16	(3)
2018–2023	Lille	167	(27)
2023–2025	Celta Vigo	39	(3)
2025–	Chicago Fire	0	(0)
International career‡
2011	France U16	2	(0)
2013	France U18	3	(0)
2015–2016	France U20	7	(2)
2017–2019	France U21	21	(5)
2023–	Ivory Coast	10	(1)
Medal record Representing   Ivory Coast Men's football Africa Cup of Nations Winner 2023 Ivory Coast
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10 January 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26 March 2024

Jonathan Fousseni Bamba (born 26 March 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a left winger or attacking midfielder for Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire. ^[3] Born in France, he plays for the Ivory Coast national team.

Club career

Saint-Étienne

Jonathan Fousseni Bamba is a graduate of Saint-Étienne youth academy, which he joined in 2011.

Bamba made his Ligue 1 debut on 25 January 2015 against Paris Saint-Germain replacing Yohan Mollo after 82 minutes in a 0–1 home defeat. During the summer of 2015 he scored against Ajax Amsterdam in a pre-season friendly. On 20 September 2015, he started in the Ligue 1 match against Nantes and scored in the 26th minute to register his first competitive goal for Saint-Étienne's first team in a 2–0 home win. ^[4]

On 18 January 2016, Bamba joined Ligue 2 club Paris FC on loan until the end of the 2015-16 season, with Paris FC not given an option to buy him when the loan expired. ^{[5] [6]} Bamba was loaned to Belgian First Division A club Sint-Truiden in the summer of 2016. However Sint-Truiden sent him back early to Saint-Etienne during the winter break of the 2016–17 season. On 4 January 2017, Bamba was loaned to Ligue 1 club Angers until the end of the 2016-17 season. ^[7]

On 24 September 2017, Bamba scored Saint-Étienne's second equalizing goal from the penalty spot in a 2–2 Ligue 1 home draw against Rennes to register his fourth Ligue 1 goal (three of which were penalties) of the 2017–18 season. ^[8]

Lille

Bamba (black) with Lille against Salzburg in 2021

On 2 July 2018, Bamba signed a five-year deal with Lille OSC. ^[9] On 11 August 2018, Bamba made his competitive debut for Lille and scored the final goal of the match in the 3–1 Ligue 1 home win over Stade Rennais. Two weeks later, he played his third Ligue 1 match for Lille and took his 2018–19 Ligue 1 goal tally to three when he scored two goals in the 3–0 Ligue 1 home win over Guingamp. ^[10] On 30 September, Bamba scored two goals (including a penalty) in the final six minutes of the match in the 3–0 Ligue 1 home win over Marseille. ^[11] On 6 October, he took his 2018–19 Ligue 1 goal tally to seven (he had scored only seven Ligue 1 goals during the entire 2017–18 season) when he scored two goals again and assisted Nicolas Pépé's goal in a 3–1 Ligue 1 home win over Saint-Étienne. ^[12]

After a cancelled 2019–20 Ligue 1 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bamba became confirmed as a regular starter, as Lille won their fourth league title during the 2020–21 season, being in the field in all league games. ^[13]

During the 2021–22 Lille OSC season, he participated in the 1–0 win against PSG in the Trophée des Champions, with the club winning that trophy for the first time ever. ^[14] Later, he helped the team to get out of the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League group stage and played against Chelsea in round of 16. ^[15]

Celta

On 18 July 2023, Bamba signed with La Liga club Celta. ^[16]

Chicago Fire

On 21 January 2025, Bamba moved to Major League Soccer side Chicago Fire on a three-year deal. ^{[17] [18]}

International career

Bamba was born in France and is of Ivorian descent. ^[19] He is a dual-national, and was able to choose to represent either France or Ivory Coast internationally. ^[19]

Bamba (right) with Ivory Coast in 2024

After representing France at various youth levels, he switched his allegiance to the latter in March 2023, as he accepted a call-up to the Ivorian senior national team for two Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches against Comoros. ^[20]

In December 2023, Bamba was named in the Ivory Coast's squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. ^{[21] [22] [23]} He was in the starting XI for Ivory Coast's 2–0 win over Guinea-Bissau in the tournament's opening match. ^[24]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 16 January 2025 ^[3]

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
Saint-Étienne	2014–15	Ligue 1	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	—		4	0
	2015–16		5	1	1	0	1	0	4 [c]	0	—		11	1
	2017–18		34	7	2	1	1	0	—		—		37	8
	Total		42	8	4	1	2	0	4	0	0	0	52	9
Paris FC (loan)	2015–16	Ligue 2	14	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		14	0
Sint-Truiden (loan)	2016–17	Belgian Pro League	8	2	3	1	—		—		—		11	3
Angers (loan)	2016–17	Ligue 1	16	3	4	0	0	0	—		—		20	3
Lille	2018–19	Ligue 1	38	13	3	1	0	0	—		—		41	14
	2019–20		26	1	3	0	2	0	6 [d]	0	—		37	1
	2020–21		38	6	2	0	—		8 [c]	1	—		48	7
	2021–22		31	1	1	0	—		6 [d]	0	1 [e]	0	39	1
	2022–23		34	6	1	0	—		—		—		35	6
	Total		167	27	10	1	2	0	20	1	1	0	200	29
Celta	2023–24	La Liga	27	3	1	2	—		—		—		28	5
	2024–25		12	0	2	1	—		—		—		14	1
	Total		39	3	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	42	6
Career total			286	43	24	6	4	0	24	1	1	0	339	50

1. Includes Coupe de France, Belgian Cup, Copa del Rey
2. Includes Coupe de la Ligue
3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
4. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
5. Appearance in Trophée des Champions

Honours

Lille

• Ligue 1: 2020–21 ^[13]
• Trophée des Champions: 2021 ^[25]

Ivory Coast

• Africa Cup of Nations: 2023 ^[26]

Individual

• UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Month: April 2019, ^[27] October 2020 ^[28]

References

1. "Jonathan Bamba (Celta Vigo)". L'Équipe.
2. "Jonathan Bamba". RC Celta de Vigo. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
3. Jonathan Bamba at Soccerway. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
4. "Saint-Étienne vs. PSG - 25 January 2015 - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
5. "Jonathan Bamba to join Paris FC on loan". Get French Football News. 18 January 2016.
6. "Bilel Moshni (Angers) et Jonathan Bamba (Saint-Etienne) au Paris FC". L'Équipe. 18 January 2016.
7. "Transfert : Jonathan Bamba prêté à Angers". L'Équipe. 4 January 2017.
8. "Saint-Étienne come from behind twice in Rennes draw". www.ligue1.com. 24 September 2017.
9. "En fin de contrat à Saint-Etienne, Jonathan Bamba signe à Lille". L'Équipe. 2 July 2018.
10. "Bamba doubles up as Lille take down Guingamp". www.ligue1.com. 26 August 2018.
11. "Lille stun Marseille to move up to second". www.ligue1.com. 30 September 2018.
12. "Lille sink Saint-Etienne to go second". www.ligue1.com. 6 October 2018.
13. "Lille hold their nerve to clinch their first Ligue 1 title for a decade". The Guardian. 23 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
14. "Lille 1–0 Paris Saint-Germain: Les Dogues clinch first French Super Cup". Sky Sports. 1 August 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
15. "A nouveau battu par Chelsea, Lille éliminé de la Ligue des champions en huitièmes de finale". Le Monde (in French). 16 March 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
16. "Libre, Jonathan Bamba rejoint le Celta Vigo pour 3 ans" [Free, Jonathan Bamba joins Celta Vigo for 3 years] (in French). L'Équipe. 18 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
17. "Chicago Fire FC Acquires Winger Jonathan Bamba as Designated Player | Chicago Fire FC". chicagofirefc.
18. Calabrese, Alex (20 January 2025). "Chicago Fire Announce Jonathan Bamba Signing". MIR97 Media. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
19. "Jonathan Bamba: le jeune ivoirien à Saint Trond". africatopsports.com (in French). Africa Top Sports. 17 August 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
20. "Elim. CAN 2023 (3è et 4è CIV-COM & COM-CIV) : Jean Louis Gasset dévoile les 23 Eléphants". Fédération Ivoirienne de Football. 15 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
21. "LA LISTE" (in Portuguese). Ivorian Football Federation. 28 December 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2024– via Facebook.
22. Sahi, Tristan (28 December 2023). "Côte d'Ivoire: voici les 27 Eléphants de Gasset, Zaha et des ténors font leurs adieux à la CAN 2023" (in French). 7info. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
23. "CÔTE D'IVOIRE" (PDF). Confederation of African Football. 5 January 2024.
24. "Côte d'Ivoire 2-0 Guinea-Bissau". Confederation of African Football. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
25. "Lille beat PSG to clinch first French Super Cup". Sky Sports. 1 August 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
26. Stevens, Rob (11 February 2024). "Nigeria 1–2 Ivory Coast". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
27. "Jonathan Bamba, joueur du mois d'avril !" (in French). UNFP. 13 May 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
28. "Jonathan Bamba, joueur du mois d'octobre de la Ligue 1 Uber Eats !" (in French). UNFP. 19 November 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.

External links

• Profile at the RC Celta de Vigo website
• Jonathan Bamba at the French Football Federation (in French)
• Jonathan Bamba at the French Football Federation (archived2019-04-24) (in French)
• Jonathan Bamba – UEFA competition record ( archive )