Ligue 1: Cédric Bakambu joins Olympique de Marseille
The Congolese Cédric Bakambu.
RFI / Pierre René-Worms
Text by: Farid Achache Follow
2 min
Free since leaving China, the 30-year-old Congolese striker has become the first recruit in OM's winter transfer window.
He committed this Thursday, January 13 until June 2024.
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Olympique de Marseille today announced the signing of Congolese international Cédric Bakambu.
Free of any contract, the 30-year-old striker has signed up to the Olympian club until June 30, 2024 after the success of his medical examination
, ”we can now read on the Marseille team's website.
With the former Sochalien, Olympique de Marseille is recruiting a versatile center forward, able to compete with Arkadiusz Milik.
Cédric Bakambu, who played his last game with Beijing Guoan on August 15, will need to be efficient and in good shape fairly quickly.
In 2006, FC Sochaux went to look for him in the Paris region to integrate him into its training center.
Four years in China
The former Sochalien therefore finds the lawns of Ligue 1 that he had left in 2014 for Turkey (Bursaspor), then Spain for three seasons with Villareal (105 games for 47 goals), before his big departure for China in 2018 A transfer which at the time made the headlines.
Bakambu had become the most expensive African player with this transfer to 72 million euros.
During his four seasons in China, Bakambu has found the net 58 times in 87 matches.
Will he regain his scoring flair with Marseille, currently on the podium in Ligue 1?
Bakambu returns to France with only one trophy: Coupe de Chine in 2018.
In 2019, he scored three goals with the DRC during the CAN in Egypt.
In total for 10 years, Cédric Bakambu has scored 147 goals in 339 matches.
In 2020, the Leopard almost set foot in Europe, at FC Barcelona, when the Chinese championship was suspended by local authorities because of the Covid-19.
The transfer was canceled while Bakambu was on the plane to Barcelona.
Before signing his contract with the Marseille club, Cédric Bakambu spoke physically in the Paris region with a personal coach.
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