Mubarak Wakaso

Mubarak Wakasopronunciationⓘ (Arabic: مبارك واكاسو; born 25 July 1990) is a Ghanaian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Chinese Super League club Shenzhen and the Ghana national team.

Mubarak Wakaso
Wakaso playing for Ghana in 2015
Personal information
Date of birth (1990-07-25) 25 July 1990
Place of birth Tamale, Ghana
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Shenzhen
Number 44
Youth career
Adelaide
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2008 Ashanti Gold
2008–2011 Elche 58 (1)
2011 Villarreal B 5 (1)
2011–2012 Villarreal 17 (0)
2012–2013 Espanyol 26 (3)
2013–2016 Rubin Kazan 16 (2)
2014–2015 → Celtic (loan) 5 (0)
2015–2016 → Las Palmas (loan) 20 (1)
2016–2017 Panathinaikos 8 (1)
2017 → Granada (loan) 11 (1)
2017–2020 Alavés 66 (1)
2020 Jiangsu Suning 18 (0)
2021– Shenzhen 13 (0)
2022–2023 → Eupen (loan) 9 (0)
International career‡
2005 Ghana U17
2012– Ghana 70 (13)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Ghana
Africa Cup of Nations
Runner-up2015 Equatorial Guinea
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 June 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:28, 4 September 2022 (UTC)

He spent the better part of his career in Spain, starting out at Elche in 2008 and going on to also represent Villarreal, Espanyol, Las Palmas, Granada and Alavés. He also competed professionally in Russia, Scotland, Greece, China and Belgium.

Wakaso appeared with the Ghana national team at the 2014 World Cup, as well as five Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.

Club career
Wakaso before a game with Villarreal in 2011

Early years and Spain

Born in Tamale, Northern Region, Wakaso began his senior career in Ashanti Gold SC. In 2008, he moved abroad and signed with Elche CF in Spain on a five-year contract, but only joined the club nearly two months later, however, due to international duty.[1]

In late January 2011, after several bouts of indiscipline and internal codes violations,[2] Wakaso was released by the Valencians.[3] Shortly after, he joined another side in the region and Segunda División, Villarreal CF's B team.

On 27 February 2011, Wakaso made his La Liga debut, coming on as a substitute for José Catalá in the last minutes of a 2–2 away draw against Racing de Santander.[4] He only played six matches in his first full season, and the Yellow Submarine was also relegated after 12 years in the top flight.

Wakaso signed for RCD Espanyol on 11 July 2012, penning a four-year contract.[5] He started in 23 of his league appearances for the Catalans in his only season.

Rubin Kazan

In the last days of the 2013 summer transfer window, Wakaso moved to the Russian Premier League with FC Rubin Kazan.[6] On 28 August 2014, he joined Celtic on a season-long loan.[7]

Wakaso scored on his competitive debut for Celtic, netting the first in a 2–2 away draw against FC Red Bull Salzburg in the UEFA Europa League group stage.[8] On 30 August 2015, after appearing rarely, he was loaned to UD Las Palmas for one year.[9]

Panathinaikos

On 10 July 2016, Wakaso signed a three-year contract with Super League Greece club Panathinaikos F.C. for an undisclosed fee.[10] On 15 September, in the last minute of a Europa League group phase home fixture against AFC Ajax, he was sent off – as teammate Ivan Ivanov midway through the second half of the eventual 1–2 home loss[11]– and UEFA subsequently suspended him a further two games after his initial ban was over.[12]

On 1 February 2017, Wakaso was loaned to another Spanish top-flight side, Granada CF.[13][14] He scored his first goal for them on 1 March, helping to a 2–1 home win over Deportivo Alavés.[15]

Alavés

On 17 July 2017, the day after mutually terminating his contract,[16] Wakaso signed a three-year deal with Alavés.[17] He scored his only competitive goal for the Basques on 18 May 2019, in a 2–1 home defeat of Girona FC who were relegated as a result.[18]

China

Wakaso transferred to Chinese Super League side Jiangsu Suning F.C. on 18 January 2020.[19] On 12 April of the following year, he joined Shenzhen F.C. in the same country after the former were dissolved.[20]

International career

Wakaso represented Ghana at the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Peru, playing two matches in an eventual group stage exit (three draws).[21] He made his full international debut on 13 October 2012, in a 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Malawi.[22]

On 14 November 2012, Wakaso scored his first goal in a friendly with Cape Verde.[23] He was picked for the squad that appeared at the 2013 CAN in South Africa, notably netting the game's only goal in a group stage fixture against Mali, through a penalty kick,[24] then scoring both in the 2–0 quarter-final win over Cape Verde.[25]

Wakaso was selected by manager James Kwesi Appiah for his 2014 FIFA World Cup squad.[26] He made his debut in the tournament on 21 June, playing 22 minutes in a 2–2 draw with Germany.[27]

On 5 February 2015, Wakaso netted the second goal in Ghana's 3–0 victory against Equatorial Guinea in the semi-finals of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations to take them to the final.[28][29] In the decisive match, against the Ivory Coast, he scored his penalty shootout attempt in an eventual 9–8 loss.[30]

Personal life

Wakaso's younger brother, Alhassan, is also a footballer and a midfielder. He spent most of his career in Portugal.[31][32]

Wakaso is a practising Muslim.[33] In October 2018, while heading to Bilbao's Loiu airport to travel to Ghana, he was unhurt following a car accident.[34]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 1 February 2023[35][36]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 1] League cup[lower-alpha 2] Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Elche 2008–09 Segunda División 16000––160
2009–10 26000––260
2010–11 16121––182
Total 58121––602
Villarreal B 2010–11 Segunda División 51–––51
Villarreal 2010–11 La Liga 110––4[lower-alpha 3]0150
2011–12 6000–4[lower-alpha 4]0100
Total 17000–80250
Espanyol 2012–13 La Liga 26310––273
Rubin Kazan 2013–14 Russian Premier League 14200–4[lower-alpha 3]0182
2014–15 20–––20
Total 16200–40202
Celtic (loan) 2014–15 Scottish Premiership 5000105[lower-alpha 3]1111
Las Palmas (loan) 2015–16 La Liga 20141––242
Panathinaikos 2016–17 Super League Greece 8110–7[lower-alpha 3]0161
Granada (loan) 2016–17 La Liga 11100––111
Alavés 2017–18 La Liga 21030––240
2018–19 29100––291
2019–20 16010––70
Total 66140––701
Jiangsu Suning 2020 Chinese Super League 18010––190
Shenzhen 2021 Chinese Super League 13000––130
2022 Chinese Super League 0000––00
Total 13000––130
Eupen (loan) 2022–23 Belgian Pro League 8010––90
Career total 271111421024131014
  1. Includes Copa del Rey, Greek Football Cup, Chinese FA Cup, Belgian Cup
  2. Includes Scottish League Cup
  3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International
As of match played 14 June 2022[37]
Ghana
YearAppsGoals
201221
2013136
2014101
2015143
201661
201760
201810
201980
202010
202161
202230
Total7013
As of match played 3 September 2021. Ghana score listed first, score column indicates score after each Wakaso goal.[37][23][38][35][39]
List of international goals scored by Mubarak Wakaso
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
114 November 2012Estádio Universitário, Lisbon, Portugal Cape Verde1–01–0Friendly
213 January 2013Sheikh Zayed, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Tunisia2–24–2
324 January 2013Nelson Mandela Bay, Port Elizabeth, South Africa Mali1–01–02013 Africa Cup of Nations
42 February 2013Nelson Mandela Bay, Port Elizabeth, South Africa Cape Verde1–02–02013 Africa Cup of Nations
52–02–0
66 February 2013Mbombela, Nelspruit, South Africa Burkina Faso1–01–1
724 March 2013Baba Yara, Kumasi, Ghana Sudan2–04–02014 FIFA World Cup qualification
819 November 2014Tamale Stadium, Tamale, Ghana Togo2–03–12015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
95 February 2015Nuevo Estadio, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea2–03–02015 Africa Cup of Nations
105 September 2015Amahoro, Kigali, Rwanda Rwanda1–03–02017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
1117 November 2015Baba Yara, Kumasi, Ghana Comoros1–02–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
1211 October 2016Moses Mabhida, Durban, South Africa South Africa1–01–1Friendly
133 September 2021Cape Coast Sports Stadium, Cape Coast, Ghana Ethiopia1–01–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Celtic

Jiangsu Suning

Ghana

Individual

References
  1. El ghanés Wakaso Mubarak empieza a dejar constancia de sus 'poderes' (Ghanaian Wakaso Mubarak starts showing his 'powers'); La Verdad, July 2008 (in Spanish)
  2. Wakaso Mubarak, cielo e infierno en un mismo lugar (Wakaso Mubarak, heaven and hell in the same place); Rayo Herald, 16 December 2010 (in Spanish)
  3. El Elche despide al ghanés Wakaso Mubarak (Elche fire Ghanaian Wakaso Mubarak) Archived 7 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine; El Diario Vasco, 31 January 2011 (in Spanish)
  4. Last-gasp Nilmar earns point; ESPN Soccernet, 27 February 2011
  5. Juárez, Mari Carmen (11 July 2012). "Wakaso ficha por el Espanyol" [Wakaso ficha por el Espanyol] (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  6. МУБАРАК ВАКАСО ПЕРЕШЕЛ В "РУБИН" [Mubarak Wakaso moved to Rubin] (in Russian). FC Rubin Kazan. 28 August 2013. Archived from the original on 2 September 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
  7. McGill, John (23 August 2014). "Rubin: We had to let Wakaso go to Celtic". Evening Times. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  8. Campbell, Andy (18 September 2014). "FC Red Bull Salzburg 2–2 Celtic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  9. "Wakaso, centrocampista internacional ghanés, llega cedido del Rubin Kazan" [Wakaso, Ghanaian international midfielder, arrives on loan from Rubin Kazan] (in Spanish). UD Las Palmas. 30 August 2015. Archived from the original on 2 September 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  10. Tsimpidas, Bampis (10 July 2016). "Υπέγραψε συμβόλαιο τριετούς διάρκειας ο Γουακάσο" [Wakaso signed a three-year contract] (in Greek). Sport 24. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  11. "Panathinaikos 1–2 Ajax". UEFA. 16 September 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  12. ""Καμπάνα" από UEFA σε Παναθηναϊκό και Γουακάσο" (in Greek). Naftemporiki. 8 October 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  13. Narkortu Teye, Prince (1 February 2017). "Wakaso joins Granada on loan". Goal. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  14. "Wakaso joins Granada on loan from Panathinaikos". Citi FM Online. 1 February 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  15. Rodrigálvarez, Eduardo (2 March 2017). "El Granada resucita ante un Alavés moribundo" [Granada come back to life against dying Alavés] (in Spanish). El País. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  16. "Mubarak Wakaso terminates Panathinaikos contract". Goal. 16 July 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  17. "El Deportivo Alavés ficha a Wakaso para las tres próximas temporadas" [Deportivo Alavés sign Wakaso for the following three seasons] (in Spanish). Deportivo Alavés. 17 July 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  18. "El Alavés finaliza la temporada con victoria y manda al Girona a Segunda" [Alavés end season with win and send Girona to Segunda] (in Spanish). EITB. 18 May 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  19. "Wakaso cierra su etapa en el Deportivo Alavés" [Wakaso ends his spell at Deportivo Alavés] (in Spanish). Deportivo Alavés. 18 January 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  20. Amoasi Appiah, Samuel Ekow (12 April 2021). "Confirmed: Ghana midfielder Mubarak Wakaso joins Chinese side Shenzhen FC". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  21. Mubarak Wakaso – FIFA competition record (archived)
  22. Ghana first to reach 2013 Nations Cup; Ghana Web, 13 October 2012
  23. Paul, Simon (14 November 2012). "Cape Verde 0–1 Ghana: Mubarak Wakaso scores debut goal for Black Stars". Goal. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  24. Ghana 1–0 Mali; BBC Sport, 23 January 2013
  25. Hughes, Ian (2 February 2013). "Ghana 2–0 Cape Verde". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  26. "Ghana World Cup 2014 squad". The Daily Telegraph. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  27. "Germany, Ghana share spoils in Fortaleza thriller". FIFA. 21 June 2014. Archived from the original on 23 June 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  28. Hughes, Ian (5 February 2015). "Ghana 3–0 Equatorial Guinea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  29. "Violence halts African Nations Cup semi-final as Ghana beats Equatorial Guinea 3–0". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 5 February 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  30. Hughes, Ian (8 February 2015). "Ivory Coast 0–0 Ghana". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  31. Taiwo, Taiye (5 June 2018). "EXTRA TIME: Wakaso brothers link up with Jordan Ayew". Goal. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  32. Freeman Yeboah, Thomas (7 January 2019). "Mubarak Wakaso celebrates Alhassan Wakaso on his 26th birthday". Pulse Ghana. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  33. "Footballer flashing 'Allah is Great' T-shirt escapes punishment". The Muslim News. 8 March 2013. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  34. Fajah Barrie, Mohamed (7 October 2018). "Mubarak Wakaso: Ghana midfielder escapes unhurt from car accident". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  35. Mubarak Wakaso at Soccerway
  36. "Mubarak, Wakaso". Fitbastats. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  37. Mubarak Wakaso at National-Football-Teams.com
  38. Gyimah, Edmund Okai (13 January 2013). "Ghana 4–2 Tunisia: Black Stars came from behind to beat Carthage Eagles". Goal. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  39. Swaby, Sean (19 November 2014). "Wakaso Mubarak scores incredible goal from distance for Ghana against Togo". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  40. "Bit-part Mubarak Wakaso wins first career silverware as Celtic are declared Scottish champions". Ghana Soccernet. 2 May 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  41. "Inspired Teixeira drags Jiangsu to first Chinese Super League title". France 24. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  42. Hughes, Ian (8 February 2015). "Ivory Coast 0–0 Ghana". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  43. Okai Gyimah, Edmund (8 February 2013). "Valencia to make summer swoop for Espanyol's Mubarak Wakaso". Goal. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  44. "Bassogog named Total Man of the Competition". CAF Online. 6 February 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
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