 Mangala lining up forPorto in 2013 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Eliaquim Hans Mangala[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1991-02-13)13 February 1991 (age 34)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Colombes, Hauts-de-Seine, France | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Estoril | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1996–2002 | AC Lustin | ||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2004 | CS Wépionnais | ||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2007 | UR Namur | ||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | Standard Liège | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2008–2011 | Standard Liège | 77 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2011–2014 | Porto | 51 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
| 2014–2019 | Manchester City | 57 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | →Valencia (loan) | 30 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018 | →Everton (loan) | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–2021 | Valencia | 15 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2022 | Saint-Étienne | 14 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Estoril | 24 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2012 | France U21 | 21 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2013–2016 | France | 8 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 3 February 2025 | |||||||||||||||||
Eliaquim Hans Mangala (born 13 February 1991) is a French professionalfootballer who plays as acentre-back forPrimeira Liga clubEstoril.
Born in France, he moved to Belgium as a child and began his career there atStandard Liège, going ontoPorto in 2011 where he won consecutivePrimeira Liga titles before joiningManchester City in 2014 for £32 million. He played 79 matches for City, won thePremier League in2017–18, and had loans at Valencia andEverton, before joining the former on a free transfer in 2019.
Mangala made his debut with theFrance national team on 6 June 2013 againstUruguay. He was included in the nation's squads for the2014 FIFA World Cup andUEFA Euro 2016, making a substitute appearance in the latter.
Mangala was born in the northwestern Parisian suburb ofColombes, Hauts-de-Seine, to Congolese parents. He acquiredFrench nationality on 5 December 1995, through the collective effect of his mother'snaturalization.[3] He moved to Belgium at the age of five to live in the French-speaking city ofNamur. At the same age, he joined local clubAthletic Club Lustin as a youth player and spent six years at the club before moving toCS Wépionnais in nearbyWépion. After two years in Wépion, Mangala joined the biggest club in the city,UR Namur, and quickly impressed. While at Namur, Mangala was utilised as astriker and his positive displays at youth level led to interest fromStandard Liège. In 2007, Mangala and Standard reached an agreement on a three-year youth contract.[4]
Mangala joined Standard Liège and, upon his arrival, was converted into aleft back and inserted into the club's under-17 team for the 2007–08 season. Mangala's admirable play with the team led to the player being promoted to Standard's under-19 team in January 2008, where he again switched positions, this time moving intocentral defence. During his time with the under-19 team, Mangala made the bench several times for Standard's under-21 team, despite being only 17 years old.[5]
For the2008–09 season, Mangala was given the opportunity to train and play with the first team. On 23 October 2008, he signed his first professional contract, agreeing to a five-year deal with the club.[6] Mangala was officially promoted to the senior team and assigned the number 22 shirt. On 9 November, he made his professional debut as an 89th-minute substitute in a 3–1 victory overGerminal Beerschot.[7] He made another late appearance againstGent before earning his first career league start againstDender on 17 January 2009. In the match, Mangala provided the assist on the opening goal scored byMilan Jovanović in the 3rd minute of play. Standard won the match 3–2 with Mangala playing the entire match. He finished the season with 11 league appearances as Standard Liège were crowned champions. He also appeared inUEFA Cup matches against Italian clubSampdoria, German clubStuttgart, and Portuguese teamSporting CP, starting the match against the latter.[citation needed]
Mangala was inserted as a starter for the2009–10 season making his debut in the club's 2–0 victory overGenk in theBelgian Supercup on 25 July 2009.[8] On 12 September, Mangala scored his first professional goal in a league match againstMechelen in a 3–0 victory. Four days later, Mangala scored another goal against English clubArsenal in the club's openingUEFA Champions League group stage match.[9] Mangala scored the goal in the 3rd minute and Standard striker Jovanović scored two minutes later to put Standard Liège up 2–0, however, the club went on to lose the match 3–2 following three unanswered goals from the English team.[10]
In what proved to be his final league match for Standard, Mangala converted aSteven Defour free-kick to give his team a 1–0 lead overKRC Genk at half-time, but strikerKennedy Ugoala Nwanganga earned a 1–1 draw for Genk, securing the league title by just half a point over Standard.[11] In his final appearance for the club on 21 May 2011, Mangala scored Standard's first goal in their 2–0 victory overK.V.C. Westerlo in thefinal of theBelgian Cup, ending an 18-year cup drought.[12]
Mangala joined reigningEuropa League championsPorto on 16 August 2011.[13] The deal also included Porto signing his Standard teammateSteven Defour in a combined deal that totalled £11.4 million.[14] He played his first season with Porto as a substitute behind the likes ofRolando,Maicon andNicolás Otamendi. He made his first appearance in the2012–13 season for Porto in theSupertaça Cândido de Oliveira againstAcadémica on 11 August 2012, playing the full 90 minutes as Porto won the pre-season title with a 1–0 win.[15] He made his first-team breakthrough with Porto that season, becoming the first-choicecentre back and scoring four league goals, one of which was in a 2–2 draw with Benfica on 13 January 2013.[16] Mangala featured in Porto's 2–0 win overPaços de Ferreira on 19 May 2013, leading the club to an undefeated season and a third-straight league title, by just one point over rivalsBenfica.[17]
In the January 2014 transfer window,Manchester City made an offer for Mangala and his teammateFernando, but abandoned interest when Porto held out for £50 million.[18] On 23 February, he was sent off for a reckless challenge inside the area and Porto fell to a 1–0 defeat toEstoril asEvandro converted the spot kick.[19] In Porto'sEuropa League Round of 16-second leg againstEintracht Frankfurt four days later, Mangala scored two goals, both from headers, as Porto battled back from 2–0 down to draw 3–3 and secure passage to the quarter-finals on away goals.[20] On 3 April, he headed in the game's only goal as Porto defeatedSevilla in the first-leg of that round.[21] His goal would not be enough to guide the Portuguese into the next round as they fell to a 4–1 loss in Spain seven days later.[22]
On 11 August 2014, Mangala signed for English clubManchester City on a five-year contract,[23] for a reported £31.8 million transfer fee.[24][25] It was however reported 18 months into his contract that the fee was more in the region of £42m due to spiralling costs as a result of Mangala's split ownership at Porto, with City having to pay in the region of £18m to two companies which owned over 40% of Mangala's economic rights. This second figure would make Mangala the most expensive defender in British transfer history at the time.[26] He reunited with his former Porto teammate,Fernando, who had joined City earlier in the summer.[27]
Mangala made his debut in City's fifth match of thePremier League season, a 1–1 home draw againstChelsea on 21 September. Lining up alongside captainVincent Kompany, his performance was described byBBC Sport as "colossal".[28] Six days later, an own goal and concession of a penalty by Mangala caused City to lose a 2–0 lead againstHull City, although they eventually triumphed 4–2. Despite media criticism, managerManuel Pellegrini said "we continue to trust him because he is a very good player who had very bad luck".[29] On 30 November, Mangala was sent off for two yellow cards in City's 3–0 win away toSouthampton.[30]
On 31 August 2016, Mangala joined Spanish clubValencia on a season-long loan.[31] He made his debut for theChe on 11 September, starting alongside fellow newcomerEzequiel Garay in a 3–2 home loss toReal Betis.[32] On 28 February 2017, he scored his first goal to defeatLeganés atMestalla,[33] and on 19 March he headed the opening goal of a 4–2 away loss atFC Barcelona in which he was sent off for pulling atLuis Suárez in the penalty area.[34]
Mangala joined Premier League clubEverton on loan on 31 January 2018.[35] He made his debut againstArsenal,[36] but in his second game againstCrystal Palace he was forced off at half-time with a knee injury.[37] He later underwent surgery and was ruled out for the remainder of the season.[38] At the end of the season he was eligible for aPremier League winners' medal having previously made nine league appearances for Manchester City before joining Everton.[39]
On 12 August 2019, Mangala returned to former clubValencia on a permanent basis after agreeing to a two-year contract on a free transfer.[40] He and teammatesEzequiel Garay andJosé Luis Gayà tested positive forCOVID-19 virus during theCOVID-19 pandemic in Spain.[41]
On 20 January 2022, Mangala signed forSaint-Étienne on a free transfer, on a six-month contract.[42] He played 14 Ligue 1 matches, and scored an equaliser in a 2–1 home loss toReims in the penultimate fixture on 14 May.[43] He was suspended three times due to accumulating nine yellow cards, missing the first leg of the promotion/relegation playoff againstAuxerre and returning in the second leg for the penalty shootout defeat.[44][45]
On 7 August 2023, being without a club for over a year, Mangala returned to Portugal to joinPrimeira Liga clubEstoril after trialling with the side, he was signed on a one-year deal.[46]
Due to being raised in Belgium, Mangala did not feature with any ofFrance's youth football teams. In 2008, he was approached by theRoyal Belgian Football Association who called the player up to the country's under-18 national team. However, due to not possessing a passport at the time, the call up was deemed futile. After excelling with Standard Liège's senior team, Mangala drew the interest of theFrench Football Federation withFrance under-21 managerErick Mombaerts attending a match between Liège andMouscron at theStade Le Canonnier in November.[47] On 5 November 2009, Mangala was selected, for the first time, to the under-21 team for afriendly match againstTunisia on 13 November and a2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification match againstSlovenia on 17 November. Mangala made his under-21 debut in the Tunisia match, but missed the match against Slovenia after withdrawing from the team due to an injury suffered the previous day in training. On 2 March 2010, he earned his second straight selection to the under-21 team and started in central defence alongsidecaptainMamadou Sakho in the team's 3–1 win overCroatia.[citation needed]
Mangala made his debut with theFrance senior team in a 1–0 loss toUruguay on 6 June 2013.[48] He was included in France's squad for the2014 FIFA World Cup but did not make an appearance during the tournament, in whichLes Bleus reached the quarter-finals.[49]
Mangala was also included in France's squad that finished runners-up atUEFA Euro 2016 on home soil. He made one appearance in the quarter-finals on 3 July, replacingLaurent Koscielny for the final 18 minutes of a 5–2 win overIceland at theStade de France.[50]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Standard Liège | 2008–09 | Belgian First Division | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | |
| 2009–10 | Belgian Pro League | 31 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 2 | ||
| 2010–11 | Belgian Pro League | 35 | 1 | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | 40 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 77 | 2 | 8 | 1 | — | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 100 | 4 | |||
| Porto | 2011–12 | Primeira Liga | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 14 | 1 | |
| 2012–13 | Primeira Liga | 23 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 7 | |
| 2013–14 | Primeira Liga | 21 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 5 | |
| Total | 51 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 13 | 2 | 22 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 95 | 13 | ||
| Manchester City | 2014–15 | Premier League | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 0 |
| 2015–16 | Premier League | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | 33 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | Premier League | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 15 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 57 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 79 | 0 | ||
| Valencia (loan) | 2016–17 | La Liga | 30 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 33 | 2 | |||
| Everton (loan) | 2017–18 | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Valencia | 2019–20 | La Liga | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2020–21 | La Liga | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 10 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 15 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 | |||
| Saint-Étienne | 2021–22 | Ligue 1 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 15 | 1 | ||
| Estoril | 2023–24 | Primeira Liga | 17 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 1 | ||
| 2024–25 | Primeira Liga | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 0 | |||
| Total | 24 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 270 | 12 | 25 | 3 | 25 | 2 | 50 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 374 | 21 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 2013 | 1 | 0 |
| 2014 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 8 | 0 | |
Standard Liège[53]
Porto[53]
Manchester City
Individual
France squads | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
