 Baba playing for Ghana in 2022 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Abdul Rahman Baba[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1994-07-02)2 July 1994 (age 31)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Tamale, Ghana[3] | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[4] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Left-back | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | PAOK | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 21 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2010 | Young Meteors Tamale | ||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | Dreams FC | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | →Asante Kotoko (loan) | 25 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | Greuther Fürth | 44 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | FC Augsburg | 31 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015–2023 | Chelsea | 15 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | →Schalke 04 (loan) | 13 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | →Schalke 04 (loan) | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019 | →Reims (loan) | 11 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | →Mallorca (loan) | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021 | →PAOK (loan) | 13 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | →Reading (loan) | 29 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | →Reading (loan) | 18 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023– | PAOK | 61 | (11) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Ghana U20[3] | 7 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2014– | Ghana | 51 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 10 April 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 12:10, 12 June 2023 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
Abdul Rahman Baba (born 2 July 1994), also known asBaba Rahman, is a Ghanaian professionalfootballer who plays as aleft-back forSuper League Greece clubPAOK and theGhana national team.
Beginning his career atDreams FC, he played in theGhanaian Premier League withAsante Kotoko. In 2012, he signed forBundesliga clubGreuther Fürth, where he spent two seasons. He then played forFC Augsburg before joining Chelsea in 2015 for a fee of £14 million, potentially rising to £22 million.
Baba made his international debut in 2014 and was part of their squad which were runners-up at the2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
Abdul Rahman Baba was born on 2 July 1994, inTamale in theNorthern Region ofGhana[5][6] to Alhaji Baba (Zobognaa) and Hajia Fati Baba Sibdoo.[7] He attended Our Lady Of Fatima JHS and Young Dakpem'yili JHS, all in Tamale.[8][9] He made his footballing debut with his local team Young Meteors Tamale[10] playing for them from 2004 to 2010, before being scouted by Dreams FC, anAccra based club at the age of 16.[5]
Baba began his career atDreams FC of theGhana Division Two. After impressive performances, he was then transferred on loan toAsante Kotoko of theGhanaian Premier League for one season.[11]
For the 2012 season, Baba was a finalist for the league's Discovery of the Year Award, eventually losing to Joshua Oninku.[12] After becoming a sought after player during his time with theKumasi-based club, serious enquiries were made about the player byManchester City andArsenal of thePremier League andParma ofSerie A.[13]
However, Baba eventually signed with newly promotedGreuther Fürth in theBundesliga on 12 June 2012. Baba stated that his decision to join Fürth was because the club offered, "the best conditions to further develop my career."[11] In the derby against1. FC Nürnberg on 11 August 2014 he scored his first two goals for Fürth in a 5–1 home victory.[14] The next day he signed withFC Augsburg of the same division.[15]
In Baba's 2014–15 season with Augsburg, he made 108 tackles, more than any other player in the Bundesliga that season. Using aspects of his strength and pace, he was able to win 90 of those tackles, coming out to an 83% successful tackle rate. That season, Baba also had 83 interceptions and won 80 contested aerial balls.[16]
On 16 August 2015, Baba signed forChelsea on a five-year deal for an undisclosed fee, reported to be an initial £14 million, rising to a potential fee of almost £22 million.[17][18][19][20] He made his debut on 16 September in aUEFA Champions League tie, playing the full 90 minutes in a 4–0 win at home toMaccabi Tel Aviv.[21] He made hisPremier League debut in a 2–0 win overAston Villa atStamford Bridge on 17 October.[22] He played at left-back in games including their 2–1Champions League win overDynamo Kyiv.
On 27 February, Baba made an error which allowedSouthampton'sShane Long to score in the 42nd minute; he was substituted forKenedy at half time but Chelsea eventually won 2–1 atSt. Mary's.[23]
_by_Sandro_Halank%25E2%2580%2593128.jpg)
On 2 August 2016,FC Schalke 04, confirmed that Baba had moved on a season-long loan to the club after failing to impress the new Chelsea managerAntonio Conte during pre-season. Baba was given the number 14 jersey for the upcoming season. He was signed by his former Augsburg manager,Markus Weinzierl.[24][25] Baba told the local newspaperRuhr Nachrichten that Conte advised him to leave on loan because he preferred more defensive players than him.[26]
Baba made his competitive debut for theGelsenkirchen team on 20 August, as a winger instead of a defender in a 4–1 victory againstFC 08 Villingen in the first round of theDFB-Pokal.[27] He made his league debut on 27 August, coming on forSead Kolašinac in the 62nd minute of an eventual 1–0 loss atEintracht Frankfurt on the first day of the season.[28] Baba scored his first goal for Schalke on 15 September, the game's only in a Europa League victory atOGC Nice.[29]
In January 2018, Baba joined Schalke 04 on loan for a second time agreeing an 18-month stay until summer 2019.[30][31]
In January 2019, he returned early to Chelsea and was immediately loaned toStade de Reims until the end of the season.[32]
On 2 September 2019, the last day of transfer window, Baba was again loaned out in a season-long deal, this time to newly promotedLa Liga sideMallorca.[33]
On 30 January 2021, Baba was loaned out toPAOK for the remainder of the2020–21 season.[10] He made his debut for the Greek side againstLamia on 20 February scoring the first goal in a 4–0 victory to send his side second in theleague table.[34][35]
On 27 August 2021, Baba joinedReading on loan.[36] He made his debut for the club againstQueens Park Rangers on 10 September. On 31 August 2022, Baba rejoined Reading on another season-long-loan.[37]
On 10 July 2023, Baba left Chelsea after eight years and seven loan duties at other clubs.[38] He signed a two-year contract with a one-year extension option toSuper League Greece clubPAOK.[39] On 6 August 2024, Baba scored for PAOK on the 75th minute to clinch a 2–2 draw againstMalmö in theUEFA Champions League qualifying round.[40][41]
Baba played every minute ofGhana's campaign at the2015 Africa Cup of Nations inEquatorial Guinea, providing the cross from whichAndré Ayew headed in the winner againstSouth Africa to winGroup C.[42] In thefinal against theIvory Coast, Baba scored in thepenalty shootout in which his team lost 9–8.[43]
Abdul Rahman Baba was selected for Ghana's final squad at the2022 FIFA World Cup, and provided an assist during his side's opening match againstPortugal; he produced the cross which was headed into goal byOsman Bukari.[44]
Abdul Rahman Baba has "Baba" on the back of his jersey for his Chelsea-supporting father.[45] In May 2016 bc, Baba married his longtime childhood girlfriend, Salma, in their hometown of Tamale in northern Ghana.[46] Baba started doing philanthropic work in his hometown, Tamale whilst playing in Europe. In 2021, he donated football materials and equipment to his former school and to the Tamale Juvenile Unit to help upcoming sportsmen within the northern part of Ghana.[8][9]
| 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 | ||
| Greuther Fürth | 2012–13 | Bundesliga | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 21 | 0 | |||
| 2013–14 | 2. Bundesliga | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2[c] | 0 | 25 | 0 | |||
| 2014–15 | 2. Bundesliga | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 44 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 48 | 2 | ||||
| Augsburg | 2014–15[48] | Bundesliga | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 31 | 0 | |||
| 2015–16[49] | Bundesliga | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 31 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 32 | 0 | ||||
| Chelsea | 2015–16[49] | Premier League | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4[d] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 |
| 2016–17[50] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2017–18[51] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018–19[52] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2019–20[53] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2020–21[54] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22[55] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2022–23[56] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 | ||
| Schalke 04 (loan) | 2016–17[50] | Bundesliga | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 6[e] | 1 | — | 21 | 1 | ||
| Schalke 04 (loan) | 2017–18[51] | Bundesliga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2018–19[52] | Bundesliga | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[d] | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| Total | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | ||||
| Reims (loan) | 2018–19[52] | Ligue 1 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 1 | ||
| Mallorca (loan) | 2019–20[53] | La Liga | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| PAOK (loan) | 2020–21 | Super League Greece | 13 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 17 | 1 | ||
| Reading (loan) | 2021–22[55] | Championship | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 0 | ||
| Reading (loan) | 2022–23[56] | Championship | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 0 | ||
| PAOK | 2023–24 | Super League Greece | 28 | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | 14[f] | 1 | — | 44 | 7 | ||
| 2024–25 | Super League Greece | 26 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | 16[g] | 3 | — | 43 | 8 | |||
| Total | 54 | 11 | 3 | 0 | — | 30 | 4 | — | 87 | 15 | ||||
| Career total | 233 | 15 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 41 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 298 | 20 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ghana | 2014 | 5 | 0 |
| 2015 | 12 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 52 | 1 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 28 March 2021 | Cape Coast Sports Stadium,Cape Coast, Ghana |  São Tomé and Príncipe | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | [58] |
Asante Kotoko
PAOK
Ghana
Individual
Media from Commons
Quotations from Wikiquote
Data from WikidataGhana squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
