Bakambu on one of his trademark charges upfield (VCG)

Before even stepping on to the football field in China, Cédric Bakambu had already broken a record, that of the most expensive transfer in African football: Beijing Guoan Football Club in China paid a staggering 74 million euros for the Villarreal forward from the Spanish La Liga. To hasten the signing of his four-year contract, the Chinese club even agreed to pay the transfer fee right away in its entirety.

“It’s a lot of money. Being the most expensive African player in history, it’s a matter of pride. But I’m not going to stop at that,” said Bakambu, who was born in Ivry-sur-Seine in France. But his family hails from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Among his career goals is to put his name out there among the best players of the Chinese Super League and of the African continent. 

The striker of the Leopards, as the Democratic Republic of the Congo team is known, will pocket up to 18 million euros annually. “That’s 1.5 million euros per month, 375,000 euros per week, 53,571 euros per day and 2,232 euros every hour. It’s much more than what even the best players in the English and Spanish leagues can earn,” wrote the French sports magazine France Football. The Congolese striker, however, doesn’t like to talk money, preferring to show his worth on the turf. 

“That’s a lot of money, and I know it. This played a role in my decision, which I took alone but after consulting with my family and a few relatives. I’m going to China to do something I love to play football,” said Bakambu, quickly pointing out that African footballers remain undervalued when it comes to transfers and salaries. 

In terms of earnings in African football, Bakambu is second only to Cameroonian Samuel Eto’o Fils, four-time recipient of the African Golden Ball and three-time winner of the UEFA Champions League. Fils was earning as much as 20.5 million euros a year when he was playing for the Anzhi Makhachkala in Russia, but he was well into his 30s at the time, while Bakambu is still a young player at 26. With a promising career ahead of him, he is leaving the elite of European football to join the rising Chinese football. 

Chinese football is making gradual progress with the recruitment of multiple football stars in recent years. In China, Bakambu will meet other well-known African players such as Kouassi Gervinho (Hebei China Fortune FC) from Côte d’Ivoire, Christian Bassogog (Henan Jianye FC) and Benjamin Moukandjo (Jiangsu Suning FC) from Cameroon, Papiss Cisse (Shandong Luneng Taishan FC) from Senegal along with John Obi Mikel (Tianjin Teda FC) and Obafemi Martins (Shanghai Greenland Shenhua FC) from Nigeria. 

High salary, high expectations 

While his first outing was highly anticipated, Bakambu disappointed quite a few fans on his debut on March 4, against Shandong Luneng FC. After playing the whole game, the attacker did not score a single goal and his club ended up being defeated 3:0. A large salary also means high expectations and he will have to adapt quickly and prove himself. 

But Bakambu has already showed that he can perform under pressure: he scored 48 goals in two and a half seasons at Villarreal, including 14 goals in 21 games in the 2017-18 season. It is these statistics that convinced Beijing Guoan to pay a substantial sum for the player; so he can help the club - who achieved only a mediocre performance last season - in returning to its former glory. 

The last championship win of Beijing Guoan, six-time champions of China, dates back to 2009, while its last Chinese Football Association Cup and Chinese Football Association Super Cup date back to 1997 and 2003 respectively.   

However, the poor performance of his club on the first day of the Chinese Super League did not affect his morale. In the second round of matches held on March 11, Bakambu scored a goal and helped Beijing Guoan defeat Jiangsu Suning 2:1.  

In his previous clubs, Sochaux (France, 2009-14), Bursaspor (Turkey, 2014-15) and Villarreal (Spain, 2015-17), Bakambu became used to reversing difficult situations thanks to his good reading of the game, his skills when facing the goal, and his support play. 

When he first arrived in Spain, he was considered only as a third-tier forward, behind Spaniard Soriano and Colombian Carlos Bacca. Yet, every time he stepped on the field, the Congolese player proved his worth, to the point of earning a regular place in the team. His talent was fully recognized when he was named best player of the month of the Spanish La Liga in October 2017, ahead of stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. 

To be able to lift new trophies in China, as well as those he hopes to continue winning with the Leopards of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Bakambu will have to adapt quickly to the local Chinese football environment and game style. Beijing Guoan FC has put a lot of hope in him. It’s now up to him to be up to the task. 

Bio 

Cédric Bakambu 

Born on April 11, 1991 in Ivry-sur-Seine (France) 

Size: 1.8 meters 

Weight: 70 kg 

Current team: Beijing Guoan FC 

Position: Forward