.jpg) Bamba with theChicago Fire in 2025 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jonathan Fousseni Bamba | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1996-03-26)26 March 1996 (age 29)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Alfortville, France | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Left winger,attacking midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Chicago Fire | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 19 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2005 | CA Paris | ||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2011 | UJA Alfortville | ||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2015 | Saint-Étienne | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2013–2015 | Saint-Étienne B | 51 | (12) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015–2018 | Saint-Étienne | 42 | (8) | ||||||||||||||
| 2016 | →Paris FC (loan) | 14 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2016 | →Sint-Truiden (loan) | 8 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017 | →Angers (loan) | 16 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2023 | Lille | 167 | (27) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023–2025 | Celta Vigo | 39 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Chicago Fire | 34 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | France U16 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2013 | France U18 | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | France U20 | 7 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | France U21 | 21 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Ivory Coast | 10 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 18 October 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 26 March 2024 | |||||||||||||||||
Jonathan Fousseni Bamba (born 26 March 1996) is a professionalfootballer who plays as aleft winger orattacking midfielder forMajor League Soccer clubChicago Fire.[3] Born in France, he plays for theIvory Coast national team.
Jonathan Fousseni Bamba is a graduate ofSaint-Étienne youth academy, which he joined in 2011.
Bamba made hisLigue 1 debut on 25 January 2015 againstParis Saint-Germain replacingYohan Mollo after 82 minutes in a 0–1 home defeat. During the summer of 2015 he scored againstAjax Amsterdam in a pre-season friendly. On 20 September 2015, he started in the Ligue 1 match againstNantes and scored in the 26th minute to register his first competitive goal for Saint-Étienne's first team in a 2–0 home win.[4]
On 18 January 2016, Bamba joinedLigue 2 clubParis FC on loan until the end of the2015-16 season, with Paris FC not given an option to buy him when the loan expired.[5][6] Bamba was loaned to Belgian First Division A clubSint-Truiden in the summer of 2016. However Sint-Truiden sent him back early to Saint-Etienne during the winter break of the2016–17 season. On 4 January 2017, Bamba was loaned to Ligue 1 clubAngers until the end of the2016-17 season.[7]
On 24 September 2017, Bamba scored Saint-Étienne's second equalizing goal from the penalty spot in a 2–2 Ligue 1 home draw againstRennes to register his fourth Ligue 1 goal (three of which were penalties) of the2017–18 season.[8]
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On 2 July 2018, Bamba signed a five-year deal withLille OSC.[9] On 11 August 2018, Bamba made his competitive debut for Lille and scored the final goal of the match in the 3–1 Ligue 1 home win over Stade Rennais. Two weeks later, he played his third Ligue 1 match for Lille and took his2018–19 Ligue 1 goal tally to three when he scored two goals in the 3–0 Ligue 1 home win overGuingamp.[10] On 30 September, Bamba scored two goals (including apenalty) in the final six minutes of the match in the 3–0 Ligue 1 home win overMarseille.[11] On 6 October, he took his2018–19 Ligue 1 goal tally to seven (he had scored only seven Ligue 1 goals during the entire2017–18 season) when he scored two goals again andassistedNicolas Pépé's goal in a 3–1 Ligue 1 home win overSaint-Étienne.[12]
After a cancelled2019–20 Ligue 1 season because of theCOVID-19 pandemic, Bamba became confirmed as a regular starter, as Lille won their fourthleague title during the2020–21 season, being in the field in all league games.[13]
During the2021–22 Lille OSC season, he participated in the 1–0 win againstPSG in theTrophée des Champions, with the club winning that trophy for the first time ever.[14] Later, he helped the team to get out of the2021–22 UEFA Champions League group stage and played againstChelsea inround of 16.[15]
On 18 July 2023, Bamba signed withLa Liga clubCelta.[16]
On 21 January 2025, Bamba moved toMajor League Soccer sideChicago Fire on a three-year deal.[17][18]
Bamba was born in France and is of Ivorian descent.[19] He is a dual-national, and was able to choose to represent either France or Ivory Coast internationally.[19]
After representing France at various youth levels, he switched his allegiance to the latter in March 2023, as he accepted a call-up to theIvorian senior national team for twoAfrica Cup of Nations qualification matches againstComoros.[20]
In December 2023, Bamba was named in the Ivory Coast's squad for the2023 Africa Cup of Nations.[21][22][23] He was in the starting XI for Ivory Coast's 2–0 win overGuinea-Bissau in the tournament's opening match.[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 | ||
| Saint-Étienne | 2014–15 | Ligue 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |
| 2015–16 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | — | 11 | 1 | |||
| 2017–18 | 34 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 37 | 8 | ||||
| Total | 42 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 9 | ||
| Paris FC (loan) | 2015–16 | Ligue 2 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 0 | ||
| Sint-Truiden (loan) | 2016–17 | Belgian Pro League | 8 | 2 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | 11 | 3 | |||
| Angers (loan) | 2016–17 | Ligue 1 | 16 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 3 | ||
| Lille | 2018–19 | Ligue 1 | 38 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 41 | 14 | ||
| 2019–20 | 26 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6[d] | 0 | — | 37 | 1 | |||
| 2020–21 | 38 | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | 8[c] | 1 | — | 48 | 7 | ||||
| 2021–22 | 31 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 6[d] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 39 | 1 | |||
| 2022–23 | 34 | 6 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 35 | 6 | |||||
| Total | 167 | 27 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 200 | 29 | ||
| Celta | 2023–24 | La Liga | 27 | 3 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | 28 | 5 | |||
| 2024–25 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 14 | 1 | |||||
| Total | 39 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 6 | ||
| Chicago Fire | 2025 | Major League Soccer | 34 | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 3[f] | 1 | 40 | 6 | ||
| Career total | 320 | 48 | 27 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 24 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 379 | 56 | ||
Lille
Ivory Coast
Individual
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