_42_(cropped).jpg) Boupendza withGazélec Ajaccio in 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Aaron Salem Boupendza Pozzi | ||
| Date of birth | (1996-08-07)7 August 1996 (age 28) | ||
| Place of birth | Moanda, Gabon[1] | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Zhejiang FC | ||
| Number | 9 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2015 | CF Mounana | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2016 | CF Mounana | 6 | (6) |
| 2016–2017 | Bordeaux B | 20 | (8) |
| 2017–2020 | Bordeaux | 0 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | →Pau (loan) | 21 | (15) |
| 2017–2018 | →Pau B (loan) | 3 | (2) |
| 2018 | →Gazélec Ajaccio (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | →Tours (loan) | 12 | (3) |
| 2019 | →Tours B (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | →Feirense (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | Hatayspor | 36 | (22) |
| 2021–2022 | Al-Arabi | 17 | (8) |
| 2022–2023 | Al-Shabab | 17 | (11) |
| 2023–2024 | FC Cincinnati | 24 | (7) |
| 2024–2025 | Rapid București | 9 | (3) |
| 2025– | Zhejiang FC | 0 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2016– | Gabon | 35 | (8) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 December 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 October 2023 | |||
Aaron Salem Boupendza Pozzi (born 7 August 1996) is a Gabonese professionalfootballer who plays as aforward forChinese Super League clubZhejiang FC and theGabon national team.
Formed atCF Mounana, where he won theGabon Championnat National D1 in 2015–16, he signed forBordeaux in 2016. He played only for thereserve team and out on loan, finishing as top scorer of theChampionnat National forPau in2017–18. In 2020 he signed forHatayspor, and was top scorer in theSüper Lig in2020–21. He then had one season each withAl Arabi of theQatar Stars League andAl Shabab of theSaudi Pro League, winning aQatar FA Cup with the former in2022.
A full international for Gabon since 2016, Boupendza represented the country at the2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
Born inMoanda, Boupendza came through the youth ranks ofCF Mounana, where he won theGabon Championnat National D1 in 2015–16. He had a trial atTours of the FrenchLigue 2 in February 2016.[2]
In August 2016, Boupendza signed forLigue 1 sideBordeaux to play for the club's reserve team in fifth-tierChampionnat National 3.[2] A year later, he joinedChampionnat National sidePau FC on loan.[3] He was the top scorer of the2017–18 Championnat National with 15 goals.[4]
Boupendza signed a new contract in July 2018 to keep himself at theNouveau Stade de Bordeaux until 2021, while also being loaned out toGazélec Ajaccio of Ligue 2.[5] On 9 December, his loan was terminated by mutual agreement of both clubs, after he did not score in 11 total appearances. He was then loaned to Tours in the division below.[6]
In July 2019, Boupendza was loaned toFeirense in the PortugueseLigaPro.[7] Having not scored in 11 total matches forFiló's team, his contract was rescinded in March for refusing to join thereserve team.[8]
In August 2020, after being released by Bordeaux, Boupendza signed a two-year deal atHatayspor, newly promoted to the TurkishSüper Lig.[9] He was the top scorer in his first season with 22 goals in 36 games as the team fromAntakya came sixth; teammateMame Biram Diouf was second with 19 goals.[10] He scored four times on 29 December in a 6–0 win atAntalyaspor,[11] and twice on 10 January 2021 in a 2–2 draw with eventual winnersBeşiktaş J.K. at theAntakya Atatürk Stadyumu [tr].[12]
In August 2021, Boupendza joinedQatar Stars League clubAl-Arabi SC for €4.5 million.[13] On 8 May 2022, he scored after three minutes in a 3–2 win overLusail SC to lift theQatar FA Cup.[14]
Boupendza signed a three-year deal atAl Shabab FC of theSaudi Pro League in August 2022.[15] He scored 11 goals in 17 games in his one league season inRiyadh, including four on 31 May as the campaign concluded with a 4–1 win atDamac FC.[16]
In June 2023,Major League Soccer clubFC Cincinnati announced they had signed Boupendza from Al-Shabab on a transfer, with the striker signing aDesignated Player deal through 2025, with options for 2026 and 2027. He arrived after the club had sold leading strikerBrenner toUdinese Calcio.[17] His five regular-season goals helped the team win theEastern Conference andSupporters' Shield, and on 4 November he equalised in a 1–1 draw away to theNew York Red Bulls before netting in a penalty shootout win in the first round of the2023 MLS Cup Playoffs.[18]
Boupendza's contract was terminated early by Major League Soccer on 8 August 2024. He had been absent from club training sessions for several weeks prior to the termination. Boupendza had also missed several weeks of practice and play after a fight in April 2024 in which he broke his jaw.[19]
In September 2024, Boupendza signed a two-year contract forLiga I clubRapid București.[20]
Boupendza was first called up forGabon in January 2016 for theAfrican Nations Championship.[21] He made his debut on 10 January in a 1–1 friendly draw away toUganda, and scored his first goal as consolation in a 2–1 loss to hostsRwanda in the group stage.[22]
Boupendza was called up for the2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon, where he scored the only goal of the opening group win against theComoros, who were making their tournament debut.[23] In the last 16 againstBurkina Faso, he netted his attempt in a penalty shootout defeat.[24]
| 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 | ||
| Bordeaux B | 2016–17 | CFA 2 | 20 | 8 | – | – | – | – | 20 | 8 | ||||
| Pau (loan) | 2017–18 | Championnat National | 21 | 15 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 21 | 15 | |||
| Pau B (loan) | 2017–18 | Championnat National 3 | 3 | 2 | – | – | – | – | 3 | 2 | ||||
| Gazélec Ajaccio (loan) | 2018–19 | Ligue 2 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 11 | 0 | ||
| Tours (loan) | 2018–19 | Championnat National | 12 | 3 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | 13 | 4 | |||
| Tours B (loan) | 2018–19 | Championnat National 3 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Feirense (loan) | 2019–20 | Primeira Liga | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 12 | 0 | ||
| Hatayspor | 2020–21 | Süper Lig | 36 | 22 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | 38 | 22 | |||
| Al-Arabi | 2021–22 | Qatar Stars League | 16 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | – | 3[c] | 1 | 22 | 10 | |
| 2022–23 | Qatar Stars League | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 17 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | – | 3 | 1 | 24 | 10 | |||
| Al Shabab | 2022–23 | Saudi Pro League | 17 | 11 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 17 | 11 | ||
| FC Cincinnati | 2023 | MLS | 10 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | – | 3[d] | 0 | 18 | 6 | |
| 2024 | 14 | 2 | — | – | 3[e] | 1 | – | 7 | 2 | |||||
| Total | 24 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 35 | 9 | ||
| Rapid București | 2024–25 | Liga I | 9 | 3 | 2 | 2 | – | – | – | 11 | 5 | |||
| Zhejiang FC | 2025 | Chinese Super League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 0 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 179 | 79 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 205 | 86 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gabon | 2016 | 4 | 1 |
| 2017 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 7 | 3 | |
| 2023 | 5 | 1 | |
| Total | 35 | 8 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 January 2016 | Amahoro Stadium,Kigali, Rwanda |  Rwanda | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2016 African Nations Championship |
| 2 | 15 October 2019 | Stade Ibn Batouta,Tangier, Morocco |  Morocco | 1–0 | 3–2 | Friendly |
| 3 | 17 November 2019 | Stade de Franceville,Franceville, Gabon |  Angola | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 4 | 25 March 2021 | Stade de Franceville, Franceville, Gabon |  DR Congo | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 5 | 10 January 2022 | Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo,Yaoundé, Cameroon |  Comoros | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2021 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 6 | 17 November 2022 | Atilla Vehbi Konuk Tesisleri,Antalya, Turkey |  Guinea-Bissau | 1–0 | 3–1 | Friendly |
| 7 | 2–1 | |||||
| 8 | 17 October 2023 | Estádio Algarve,Algarve, Portugal |  Guinea | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
CF Mounana
Al-Arabi
FC Cincinnati
Individual
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