 Mulumbu playing forWest Bromwich Albion in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nganguyousuf Mulumbu[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1987-01-25)25 January 1987 (age 39) | ||
| Place of birth | Kinshasa, Zaire | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2004–2006 | Paris Saint-Germain | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2004–2009 | Paris Saint-Germain B | 50 | (1) |
| 2006–2009 | Paris Saint-Germain | 13 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | →Amiens (loan) | 23 | (1) |
| 2009 | →West Bromwich Albion (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2009–2015 | West Bromwich Albion | 191 | (15) |
| 2015–2017 | Norwich City | 20 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | Kilmarnock | 18 | (1) |
| 2018–2019 | Celtic | 1 | (0) |
| 2019 | →Kilmarnock (loan) | 7 | (1) |
| 2020–2021 | Kilmarnock | 18 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | Saint-Éloi Lupopo | 37 | (16) |
| 2023–2024 | Orléans | 0 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | Orléans B | 2 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2007 | France U21 | 1 | (0) |
| 2008–2019 | DR Congo | 45 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Nganguyousuf Mulumbu (born 25 January 1987) is a Congolese professionalfootballer who plays as amidfielder forChampionnat National clubOrléans.
Mulumbu came throughParis Saint-Germain'syouth academy. He began playing forParis Saint-Germain B in 2004 and was promoted to the first-team in 2006. He was sent on two loan deals toAmiens andWest Bromwich Albion, respectively, ultimately signing a permanent deal with the latter. He played there several years, winning the club's player of the year award for 2011. In 2015, he moved to newly-promotedPremier League clubNorwich City, and he played for Scottish clubsCeltic andKilmarnock between 2017 and 2021. Afterwards, he returned to Congo to play forSaint-Éloi Lupopo. In 2023 he signed for French team US Orleans.
Born inKinshasa, Zaire, but growing up in France, Mulumbu represented France at various youth levels, before making his international debut in 2008 aged 21. He shortly withdrew from the national team citing a "lack of professionalism" in 2009. He returned in 2012, and helped the team finish in third place during the2015Africa Cup of Nations.
Mulumbu was born inKinshasa,Zaire, to parents born inLéopoldville,Belgian Congo, in the late 1950s.
He moved to France in the late 1980s with his family, and grew up in the town ofÉpinay-sous-Sénart, a suburb ofParis. He acquiredFrench nationality on 10 April 2001, through the collective effect of his parents'naturalization.[3]
Mulumbu began playing for theParis Saint-Germain Academy at age 13.[4] On 22 October 2006, he made hisLigue 1 debut under head coachGuy Lacombe, at 19 years and 10 months in a match againstAuxerre.[5] He signed his first professional contract with Paris Saint-Germain on 13 November 2006.[6]
During the 2007–08 season, he was on loan atAmiens inLigue 2, scoring once in 29 appearances.[7]
It was reported by the French media on 26 January 2009 that he joinedPremier League teamWest Bromwich Albion on a trial basis. On 2 February 2009, the January transfer deadline day, he joined them on loan with a view to a permanent deal at the end of the season. Mulumbu's first term at The Hawthorns was interrupted by injuries and he had to wait until April to make his Premier League debut, coming on as a sub in a 2–2 draw at Portsmouth. He signed for West Brom permanently on a one-year contract for a fee of £175,000 on 10 July 2009.[8]
He was named West Brom's Player of the Year by both the club and the fans at the end of the season, and signed his third contract extension in 13 months on 25 July 2011, tying himself to the club until 2015 (with the option of an extra year).[9]
On 15 March 2014, Mulumbu scored a crucial winner for West Brom in a 2–1 victory againstSwansea City at theLiberty Stadium, givingPepe Mel his first win as head coach.[10]
In June 2015, it was announced that Mulumbu would sign on a free transfer for newly promotedNorwich City on 1 July 2015.[11]
On 3 August 2015, Norwich announced that Mulumbu suffered a brokenmetatarsal in a friendly againstBrentford which would require surgery and sideline him for several weeks, ruling him out of the start of theseason.[12] He would finally make his debut on 27 October in aLeague Cup game againstEverton, which Norwich lost on penalties after a 1–1 draw.[13] He made hisPremier League debut a few days later on 31 October in a 2–1 defeat toManchester City.[14] However, withJonny Howson,Alexander Tettey andGraham Dorrans preferred in the centre of midfield, Mulumbu would ultimately be confined to only five league starts and two appearances as a substitute in the 2015–16 season, plus one appearance in theFA Cup, and the season would end with Norwich relegated back to theChampionship.
Mulumbu remained with Norwich for the 2016–17 season but again found his opportunities for first team action restricted. His last appearance for Norwich came on 11 February 2017 in a 5–1 win overNottingham Forest.[15] On 2 May, it was announced that Mulumbu was one of seven players who would be released by Norwich when their contracts expired at the end of the season.[16]
On 22 November 2017, it was announced that Mulumbu had signed forScottish Premiership clubKilmarnock until the end of the 2017–18 season.[17] Mulumbu reunited with managerSteve Clarke, who had also managed him at West Bromwich.[17] He scored his first goal for Kilmarnock in a 1–0 win againstCeltic on 3 February 2018.[18] On 13 July 2018, Clarke said that Mulumbu had left Kilmarnock and was not expected to return to the club.[19]
On 31 August 2018, Mulumbu signed a two-year deal withCeltic.[20] Mulumbu was loaned back toKilmarnock on 31 January 2019, until the end of the 2018–19 season,[21] and played 12 times in his second spell with the Ayrshire club.[22] In June 2019, Mulumbu left Celtic after the club activated a break clause in his contract.[22] Mulumbu had made three appearances for the Glasgow side.[22]
After a year out of football, Mulumbu trained with Kilmarnock during August 2020.[23] On 28 August, he made his return to the club on a six-month deal.[24] On 11 January 2021, Mulumbu agreed a contract extension to remain at the club until the end of the 2020–21 season.[25] He left Kilmarnock in May 2021 to move to France.[26]
On 31 July 2021, Mulumbu signed a one-year contract withSaint-Éloi Lupopo, marking his return to Congo.[27] He left the club as his contract expired in August 2022, after finishing third in the national championship and putting in strong performances as a key player in the team.[28]
On 21 September 2023, FrenchChampionnat National clubOrléans signed Mulumbu to a one-year contract.[29] He suffered an injury during practice shortly after joining, delaying his debut.[30]
Mulumbu was formerly a member of the France under-20 and under-21 teams. He earned his firstcap forCongo DR national team againstAlgeria on 26 March 2008. In 2009, Mulumbu decided to boycott international football after he claimed his national team lacked professionalism. On 23 September 2011, he retired from international duties, quoting "numerous problems we were facing with some authorities within the DR Congo Football Federation".[31] However, in July 2012, he decided to revoke this decision, and made himself available for the Congo DR national team once again.[31]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Paris Saint-Germain B | 2004–05 | CFA | 6 | 1 | – | – | – | 6 | 1 | |||
| 2005–06 | CFA | 21 | 0 | – | – | – | 21 | 0 | ||||
| 2006–07 | CFA | 12 | 0 | – | – | – | 12 | 0 | ||||
| 2007–08 | CFA | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2008–09 | CFA | 11 | 0 | – | – | – | 11 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 50 | 1 | – | – | – | 50 | 1 | |||||
| Paris Saint-Germain | 2006–07 | Ligue 1 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| 2007–08 | Ligue 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2008–09 | Ligue 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 0 | ||
| Amiens SC (loan) | 2007–08 | Ligue 2 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 23 | 1 | |
| West Bromwich Albion | 2008–09 | Premier League | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 6 | 0 | |
| 2009–10 | Championship | 40 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 46 | 3 | ||
| 2010–11 | Premier League | 34 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 34 | 7 | ||
| 2011–12 | Premier League | 35 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 36 | 1 | ||
| 2012–13 | Premier League | 28 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 30 | 2 | ||
| 2013–14 | Premier League | 37 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 38 | 2 | ||
| 2014–15 | Premier League | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | 21 | 0 | ||
| Total | 197 | 15 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 0 | – | 211 | 15 | |||
| Norwich City | 2015–16 | Premier League | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 9 | 0 | |
| 2016–17 | Championship | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 15 | 0 | |
| Total | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 0 | ||
| Kilmarnock | 2017–18 | Scottish Premiership | 18 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 20 | 1 | |
| Celtic | 2018–19 | Scottish Premiership | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[e] | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Kilmarnock (loan) | 2018–19 | Scottish Premiership | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 12 | 1 | |
| Kilmarnock | 2020–21 | Scottish Premiership | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 20 | 0 | |
| Saint-Éloi Lupopo | 2021–22 | Linafoot | 37 | 16 | 37 | 16 | ||||||
| Career total | 385 | 35 | 13 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 415 | 35 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| DR Congo | 2008 | 9 | 0 |
| 2009 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 45 | 1 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 October 2012 | Estadio de Malabo,Malabo, Equatorial Guinea |  Equatorial Guinea | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | [36] |
DR Congo
DR Congo squads | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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