Nathanaël Mbuku
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nathanaël Mbuku Wa Mbuku[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 16 March 2002 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Villeneuve-Saint-Georges, France | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Dinamo Zagreb | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 21 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Villeneuvois | ||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2011 | Alfortville | ||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | Maccabi Paris | ||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | US Ris-Orangis | ||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2016 | Lusitanos Saint-Maur | ||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Fleury | ||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Reims | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2023 | Reims B | 10 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–2023 | Reims | 80 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | FC Augsburg | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | FC Augsburg II | 4 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024 | → Saint-Étienne (loan) | 18 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Dinamo Zagreb | 16 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | France U16 | 9 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | France U17 | 19 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019 | France U18 | 11 | (7) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021 | France U20 | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021 | France U21 | 2 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021 | France Olympic | 3 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024– | DR Congo | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:36, 25 May 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 November 2024 | |||||||||||||||||
Nathanaël Mbuku Wa Mbuku (born 16 March 2002) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for HNL club Dinamo Zagreb. Born in France, he represents the DR Congo national team.
Club career
Reims
On 23 November 2018, Mbuku signed his first professional contract with Stade de Reims for three years.[2] He made his professional debut with Reims in a 2–0 Ligue 1 win over Olympique de Marseille on 10 August 2019.[3]
He scored his first goal in Ligue 1 in a 4–0 win against Montpellier on 25 October 2020, from an "acrobatic kick".[4] His teammate Boulaye Dia also scored from a penalty after Mbuku was fouled. The win was Reims' first in the league in the 2020–21 season.[5]
Augsburg
On 30 January 2023, Mbuku signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with Augsburg in German Bundesliga.[6]
In January 2024, he joined Ligue 2 club Saint-Étienne on loan for the remainder of the season.[7]
Dinamo Zagreb
On 3 September 2024, Mbuku signed a multi-year contract with Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia.[8] Augsburg reserved an option to buy him back at the end of the 2024–25 season.[9]
Personal life
Born in France, Mbuku holds French and Congolese nationalities.[10][11]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 25 May 2025
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Reims B | 2018–19 | CFA 2 | 8 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | CFA 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2022–23 | CFA 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 10 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | ||||
| Reims | 2019–20 | Ligue 1 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| 2020–21 | Ligue 1 | 32 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | 33 | 4 | ||
| 2021–22 | Ligue 1 | 31 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 33 | 2 | ||
| 2022–23 | Ligue 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| Total | 80 | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | 83 | 6 | |||
| FC Augsburg | 2022–23 | Bundesliga | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
| 2023–24 | Bundesliga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| FC Augsburg II | 2022–23 | Regionalliga Bayern | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | Regionalliga Bayern | 3 | 2 | — | — | 3 | 2 | |||
| Total | 4 | 2 | — | — | 4 | 2 | ||||
| Saint-Étienne (loan) | 2023–24 | Ligue 2 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3[b] | 1 | 21 | 4 |
| Dinamo Zagreb | 2024–25 | Croatian Football League | 16 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 20 | 2 |
| Career total | 131 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 143 | 14 | ||
- ^ Appearances in the Coupe de la Ligue
- ^ One appearance and one goal in the Ligue 2 promotion play-offs, two appearances in the Ligue 1 relegation/promotion play-offs
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
International
- As of match played 19 November 2024
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| DR Congo | 2024 | 3 | 0 |
| Total | 3 | 0 | |
Honours
France U17
- FIFA U-17 World Cup bronze: 2019[12]
Individual
- FIFA U-17 World Cup Silver Boot: 2019[13]
References
- ^ "FIFA U-17 World Cup Brazil 2019: List of Players: France" (PDF). FIFA. 31 October 2019. p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 December 2019.
- ^ "Nathanaël Mbuku a signé professionnel au Stade de Reims". 23 November 2018.
- ^ "Olympique Marseille vs. Reims - 10 August 2019 - Soccerway". www.soccerway.com.
- ^ Lampin, Julien; Audabram, Alexandre (25 October 2020). "Ligue 1 (J8) | Le Stade de Reims cartonne à Montpellier (4-0) et valide son premier succès en championnat". France Bleu (in French). Retrieved 26 October 2020.
- ^ "Reims stun Montpellier, Briand scores 100th goal". Ligue 1. 25 October 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
- ^ "FCA sign Nathanaël Mbuku from Stade de Reims". FC Augsburg. 30 January 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
- ^ "Nathanaël Mbuku s'engage avec les Verts" [Nathanaël Mbuku joins the Greens]. www.asse.fr (in French). 21 January 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
- ^ "Nathanaël Mbuku novi igrač Dinama" [Nathanaël Mbuku is a new Dinamo player] (in Croatian). Dinamo Zagreb. 3 September 2024. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
- ^ "Nathanaël Mbuku moves to Dinamo Zagreb". FC Augsburg. 3 September 2024. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
- ^ "Nathanaël MBUKU". unfp.org (in French). Retrieved 9 January 2024.
- ^ "VOILA NIGHT - FOOT-FRANCE U17: DÉCOUVREZ 06 INTERNATIONAUX FRANÇAIS D'ORIGINE CONGOLAISE".
- ^ "FIFA U-17 World Cup Brazil 2019 - France". www.fifa.com. Archived from the original on 10 July 2019.
- ^ "FIFA U-17 World Cup 2019 - News - Brazilians headline list of award winners". www.fifa.com.
External links
- Nathanaël Mbuku at Soccerway
- Stade de Reims Profile
- Nathanaël Mbuku at the French Football Federation (in French)
- Nathanaël Mbuku at the French Football Federation (archived) (in French)