 Abdul Majeed Waris withSpartak Moscow in March 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Abdul Majeed Waris[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1991-09-19)19 September 1991 (age 34) | ||
| Place of birth | Tamale, Ghana | ||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position | Striker /Winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2007–2008 | Right to Dream Academy | ||
| 2008–2009 | Hartpury College | ||
| 2009–2010 | Nike Academy | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010–2012 | BK Häcken | 55 | (26) |
| 2013–2014 | Spartak Moscow | 15 | (1) |
| 2014 | →Valenciennes (loan) | 16 | (9) |
| 2014–2015 | Trabzonspor | 18 | (0) |
| 2015–2018 | Lorient | 62 | (21) |
| 2018 | →Porto (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2018–2020 | Porto | 0 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | →Nantes (loan) | 33 | (5) |
| 2020 | →Strasbourg (loan) | 7 | (2) |
| 2020–2022 | Strasbourg | 30 | (3) |
| 2022–2024 | Anorthosis Famagusta | 52 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2012–2019 | Ghana | 31 | (4) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 30 June 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 8 September 2018 | |||
Abdul Majeed Waris (born 19 September 1991)[2] is a Ghanaian professionalfootballer who most recently played as astriker for Cypriot clubAnorthosis.[3]
Born inTamale, Waris started his career at the GhanaianRight to Dream Academy when he was twelve.[4] He moved to England and joinedHartpury College, while simultaneously gaining a place at theNike Academy, where he would go on to feature in the reserves side atForest Green Rovers.[5][6]
In October 2009, Waris signed a four-year contract with SwedishAllsvenskan sideBK Häcken for an undisclosed fee.[7] He made his début in March 2010 as a substitute forDominic Chatto, in a 4–2 home win againstTrelleborgs FF.[8] In May 2012, he netted his first hat-trick, scoring five goals, in a 6–0 home win againstIFK Norrköping.[9] As a result, he became the first player in Allsvenskan to score five goals in one match in the 21st century.[9] He also became the first Ghanaian to score five goals in single top-flight game in Europe as well as becoming the leading goalscorer in the2012 Allsvenskan with 12 goals in nine games.[10] In conclusion of the Allsvenskan season, Waris was named the Swedish Premier League's player of the year, which GFA President Kwesi Nyantakyi quoted:"His achievements have brought honour to our country."[11]
His performance at Häcken earned him a transfer speculation by being linked with Bundesliga clubs, such asWerder Bremen,[12]Hamburger SV,[12]Saint-Étienne,[12]Catania[12] andArsenal.[13]
In November 2012, Waris was transferred toSpartak Moscow for an undisclosed fee.[14] He made his RFPL debut on 10 March 2013, coming on as an 82nd-minute substitute in Spartak's 3–1 win overFC Terek Grozny. However, his first team chance at Spartak Moscow was limited, due to the dominance of strikers, such asEmmanuel Emenike,Yura Movsisyan,Artyom Dzyuba andAriclenes da Silva Ferreira.
Waris scored his first PFPL goal on 8 December 2013, in a 1–0 away victory overFC Rostov, and was voted the Russian Premier League player of the week.[15] Following the start of the winter break, he stated he wanted to leave the club, citing earning a first team place in the World Cup.[16]
In January 2014, Waris was loaned toLigue 1 clubValenciennes, until 30 June 2014.[17] He scored on his debut for the club in a 3–2 win overBastia on 14 January 2014[18] and was named Goal.com Ghana Player of the Week.[19] After scoring two goals in six appearances, he scored twice on 22 February 2014 in a 2–2 draw againstSochaux.[20] He scored five times in four consecutive games.
Initially aiming to score eleven goals, Waris went on to score nine goals in his loan spell at Valenciennes.[21] Despite the relegation, he expressed his desire to stay in France by making the move a permanent one.[22] He returned to Spartak Moscow, but said he hoped that the club would bounce back to Ligue 1.[23]
On 1 September 2014, Waris joined TurkishSüper Lig sideTrabzonspor on a four-year contract for a transfer fee of €5.5 million.[24][25] He had previously been linked with a move toLille, but Spartak Moscow rejected a bid from the club.[26]
He made his Trabzonspor debut on 14 September 2014, in a 0–0 draw againstFenerbahçe, where he played 90 minutes and as a left winger in attack.[27] Two months later, on 6 November 2014, he scored his first goal for the club, which came in the Europa League, in a 1–1 draw againstLokeren.[28]
On 6 August 2015, Waris' transfer to French Ligue 1 sideLorient was announced. Media reported the transfer fee as €5 million and the duration of the contract as four years.[29] This move caused controversy as Waris initially travelled toBrittany to sign for Lorient's rivalsRennes but was driven to Lorient upon his arrival.
In January 2018 Waris was loaned to PortuguesePrimeira Liga sideFC Porto on a six-month loan deal which involves a €6 million option to make the move permanent.[30][31]
On 16 January 2020, Waris returned toFrance, signing forStrasbourg on loan until the end of the season with obligation to buy in the summer for £2,000,000.[32][33] He signed for the team on a 2-year permanent contract in August 2020 ahead of the 2020–21 season.[34]
On 18 August 2022, Waris signed withCypriot First Division clubAnorthosis on a two-year contract until 2024.[35]
Waris was called up to theGhana squad againstChile in February 2012, replacing both the injuredAndré andJordan Ayew.[36] He came on as a substitute forRichard Mpong as Ghana earned a 1–1 away draw at thePPL Park inChester, Pennsylvania.[37][38] He scored the third goal in Ghana's 4–0 in World Cup Qualifying against Sudan on 24 March 2013 at theBaba Yara Stadium in Kumasi. He also scored a goal against Egypt when Ghana defeated Egypt 6–1 in Kumasi in the first leg of the final World Cup qualifier.
On 12 May 2014, Waris was named in a provisional 26-man squad in the2014 FIFA World Cup by Ghana managerJames Kwesi Appiah.[39] On 2 June 2014, he made the cut to be included in Ghana's 23-man squad for the2014 FIFA World Cup.[40]
Waris is a practicingMuslim. He was formerly married to Habiba Sinare.[41]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| BK Häcken | 2010 | Allsvenskan | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 11 | 1 | ||
| 2011 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 17 | 3 | ||||
| 2012 | 29 | 23 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | – | 35 | 26 | |||
| Total | 55 | 26 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 63 | 30 | ||
| Spartak Moscow | 2012–13 | Russian Premier League | 7 | 0 | – | – | – | 7 | 0 | |||
| 2013–14 | 4 | 1 | – | 1 | 0 | – | 5 | 1 | ||||
| 2014–15 | 4 | 0 | – | – | – | 4 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 1 | ||
| Valenciennes (loan) | 2013–14 | Ligue 1 | 16 | 9 | – | – | – | 16 | 9 | |||
| Trabzonspor | 2014–15 | Süper Lig | 18 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 | – | 26 | 4 | |
| 2015–16 | – | – | 3 | 0 | – | 3 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 18 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 4 | ||
| Lorient | 2015–16 | Ligue 1 | 21 | 11 | 4 | 1 | – | – | 25 | 12 | ||
| 2016–17 | 35 | 9 | 3 | 1 | – | 2 | 1 | 40 | 11 | |||
| 2017–18 | Ligue 2 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | – | – | 8 | 2 | |||
| Total | 62 | 21 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 73 | 25 | ||
| Porto (loan) | 2017–18 | Primeira Liga | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 8 | 0 | |
| Nantes (loan) | 2018–19 | Ligue 1 | 33 | 5 | 5 | 2 | – | – | 38 | 7 | ||
| Strasbourg | 2019–20 | Ligue 1 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 8 | 2 | ||
| 2020–21 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 16 | 1 | ||||
| 2021–22 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 16 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 37 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 5 | ||
| Anorthosis | 2022–23 | Cyta Championship | 27 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 29 | 1 | ||
| 2023–24 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 271 | 68 | 25 | 11 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 315 | 82 | ||
Porto
Individual
