Demba Ba (born 25 May 1985) is a former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

. He serves as the chairman of

National Independent Soccer Association The National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States. The league is in the third tier of American soccer and began play in 2019. NISA initially used a fall-to-spring season format with a ...

side ASC San Diego. He made his first-team debut with French team Rouen in 2005 before moving to

Mouscron Mouscron (; Dutch and vls, Moeskroen, ; Picard and Walloon: ''Moucron'') is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Hainaut, along the border with the French city of Tourcoing, which is part of the Lille metropol ...

and then

1899 Hoffenheim Turn- und Sportgemeinschaft 1899 Hoffenheim e.V., or simply TSG 1899 Hoffenheim or just Hoffenheim () is a German professional football club based in Hoffenheim, a village of Sinsheim municipality, Baden-Württemberg. Originally founded in 189 ...

in Germany in 2007. In 2011, he moved to

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

side

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

. He played only 12 games for West Ham and despite being their league top goal scorer in the 2010–11 season, they were relegated to the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

and Ba moved to Newcastle United. In January 2013, he completed a move to

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

for an undisclosed fee, before joining Beşiktaş for €6 million 18 months later. After one season in Turkey, he moved to

Shanghai Shenhua Shanghai Shenhua F.C. () is a Chinese professional football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under license from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The term ''shen hua'' literally translates as "the Flower of Shanghai" in ...

of the

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional association ...

. Born and raised in France, Ba was a full international for

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

from 2007 to 2015 and represented the country at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. On 13 September 2021, he announced his retirement from football.

Early career

Ba was born in

Sèvres Sèvres (, ) is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a population of 23,251 as of 2018, is known for ...

, Hauts-de-Seine and is the sixth child of seven. He grew up in

Saint-Valery-en-Caux Saint-Valery-en-Caux (, literally ''Saint-Valery in Caux'') is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. The addition of an acute accent on the "e" (Valéry) is incorrect. Geography The town is locat ...

, Seine-Maritime. He joined the youth section of ES Mont-Gaillard, located in

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...

, in 1992, before playing for Port Autonome between 1999 and 2000, and then for Frileuse between 2000 and 2001. In 2001, Ba returned to Châtillon and played for Montrouge. He played there until 2004, at which point he decided to concentrate on his football. Later that year, after unsuccessful trials at

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

and

Auxerre Auxerre ( , ) is the capital of the Yonne department and the fourth-largest city in Burgundy. Auxerre's population today is about 35,000; the urban area (''aire d'attraction'') comprises roughly 113,000 inhabitants. Residents of Auxerre are r ...

, Ba moved to the United Kingdom to seek a professional contract. He was recommended to

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...

manager

Ray Lewington Raymond Lewington (born 7 September 1956) is an English retired footballer. He was most recently assistant manager of Watford. Born in London, he started his playing career in the city at Chelsea. He went on to play for Vancouver Whitecaps, W ...

through his friend Gauthier Diafutua, then a Watford player, but released shortly after Lewington's dismissal. Ba then spent a week on trial at Barnsley, and returned to France after two more unsuccessful trials at Football League sides Swansea City and Gillingham.

Club career

Rouen

Ba signed with manager Alain Michel because they were both moving to French club Rouen on a one-year contract, and Ba enjoyed a highly successful season with the club.

Mouscron

Belgian club

beat off competition from numerous other clubs to win Ba's signature in 2006. Scoring in each of his first three games, he then picked up fractures in his tibia and fibula, and was out of action between August 2006 and April 2007. Following his eight-month recovery period he scored seven goals in nine games, and picked up his first international cap.

1899 Hoffenheim

On 29 August 2007, Ba moved to

2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...

side

for €3 million. Ba was an integral part of Hoffenheim's

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

to the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

and their successful first season in the Bundesliga, where they finished seventh after leading during the

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

break. In that season he scored 14 goals, only missing one game all season. These goals included a hat-trick in a 3–3 game against Stuttgart on 24 February 2009. In all competitions Ba scored 40 goals in 103 appearances for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. In July 2009, he was due to move to

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB S ...

, but the move fell through after he failed a medical. In December of that year Ba extended his contract at Hoffenheim to 2013.

Move to England

Ba left Hoffenheim for disputed reasons in January 2011. Claiming the club had gone back on an agreed transfer to a

club, believed to be

, he refused to travel to Hoffenheim's winter training camp. In response, Hoffenheim's general manager said his contract would be cancelled, he would face legal action, and he would be fined and prevented from moving to another club for six months. The club also later claimed he travelled to England without permission in order to force a move, which they reluctantly agreed needs to happen due to Ba's actions. The club later agreed to a transfer to Stoke City for a reported fee of £7.1 million, but it fell through after Ba had agreed personal terms but failed his medical for undisclosed reasons. Expressing disappointment, Stoke City manager

Tony Pulis Anthony Richard Pulis (; born 16 January 1958) is a Welsh football manager and former footballer who last managed Sheffield Wednesday. Pulis obtained his FA coaching badge at age 19, followed by his UEFA 'A' licence aged 21 – making him on ...

said "Obviously they found something which could cause problems later". After leaving Hoffenheim, the club's general manager Ernst Tanner stated the club stand by their decision selling Ba.

West Ham United

After the collapsed Stoke deal, Ba was sold to

for an undisclosed fee based on appearances. He signed a three-year contract on 28 January, on a pay as you play basis due to knee problems found in the Stoke medical. Ba's Premier League debut came on 6 February 2011, as a 75th-minute substitute for Robbie Keane during a 1–0 home defeat by

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...

. His first goals followed six days later during his full debut, scoring twice in a 3–3 draw against

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

. Despite finishing as their top scorer for the season with seven from twelve games including 2 in the last game, Ba's stay with West Ham proved to be short. Following their relegation to the

after a 3–2 loss away to

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

he invoked a release clause in his contract allowing him to leave for free. He turned down a £50,000-a-week salary plus a bonus payment of £500,000 in order to stay in the Premier League with another club, triggering interest from both Everton and Newcastle United.

Newcastle United

2011–12 season

On 17 June 2011, Ba signed for Newcastle United on a three-year deal, making his club debut on 13 August 2011 in the 0–0 draw against Arsenal. His first goals for the club came on 24 September 2011 with a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

against

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

in a 3–1 home win. A second hat-trick came in a 3–1 away win at Stoke City, taking his league total to 8 and maintaining the club's 11 game unbeaten league start, taking them to 3rd in the league. Ba's goalscoring form continued despite Newcastle entering a downward spell, and saw him picked in ESPN.com's Premier League Best XI for the first half of the season, and named

Premier League Player of the Month The Premier League Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best adjudged Premier League player each month of the season. The winner is chosen by a combination of an online public vote, which contributes to 10 ...

for December 2011. By the time Ba left to play in the January 2012 Africa Cup of Nations his league tally had reached 15, making him second top scorer in the league behind Arsenal's

Robin van Persie Robin van Persie (; born 6 August 1983) is a Dutch football coach and former professional footballer who played as a striker. Regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation, Van Persie was known for his excellent technique and ball c ...

. He left for the tournament on a high note, scoring the first in a 3–0 home win over Manchester United on 4 January 2012, the team's first victory against the league champions in over a decade. While at the Africa Cup of Nations tournament, Ba's Senegal teammate

Papiss Cissé Papiss Demba Cissé (; born 3 June 1985) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 2 club Amiens. He formerly played for the Senegal national football team. Formerly of SC Freiburg, he once held the record of m ...

also signed for Newcastle. Ba and Cissé returned earlier than expected after Senegal finished bottom of their group, with Ba having missed three Premier League games and two

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

games, the second of which saw Newcastle knocked out of the cup. He returned to action against Aston Villa on their visit to St James' Park on 5 February 2012, his return proved to be a goal scoring one as he netted the opener in the game which Newcastle won 2–1. This would prove to be Ba's last goal of the season, as he moved to the left of a three pronged attack with Papiss Cissé leading the line, and grabbing 12 goals in the second half of the season. Despite this late season slump, Ba was voted as the best signing of the 2011–12 season by Premier League managers in March 2012. He finished the season as Newcastle's leading goal scorer, with 16 goals.

2012–13 season

Ba got his season off to a strong start scoring in a 1–0 win against

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

, in Landsberg am Lech, Germany on 16 July 2012. He also scored in a 2–1 win against

Braga Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...

which helped Newcastle win the Guadiana Trophy. In Newcastle's first league game against Tottenham, Ba opened the scoring with a fantastic volleyed effort in a 2–1 win. On 17 September 2012, he scored Newcastle's 1000th goal of the

era, after scoring both goals in a 2–2 draw against Everton at

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a association football, football stadium in the Walton, Liverpool, Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area ...

. On 29 September, he scored for the third game in a row as he scored twice in a 2–2 draw away to

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

, the first a volley, the second however proved controversial as the ball struck his arm before going in. It was known that Ba had a release clause in his contract valued at £7 million causing speculation of him making a transfer to

. This speculation was confirmed by Newcastle manager Alan Pardew on 2 January 2013 who said that the transfer was "done" and Ba would "go to Chelsea with our blessing."

Chelsea

2012–13 season

On 4 January 2013, Ba joined Chelsea for an undisclosed fee. Ba signed a three-and-a-half-year contract, becoming the second ever Senegalese player to join the club, after Isaac Esposito. He received the vacant number 29 shirt. Ba made his debut against

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in the third round of the

on 5 January. He marked his first appearance for the club by scoring two goals in a 5–1 victory for Chelsea. He scored on his home league debut on 16 January in a 2–2 draw, also against Southampton. On 2 February 2013, Ba first played his former team Newcastle in a Premier League match at St. James' Park. In the 32nd minute of the match Ba had a chance to open the scoring but his initial attempt on goal was saved by Newcastle keeper Tim Krul. Ba managed to head the rebounded ball and in doing so collided with Coloccini. The collision resulted in a broken nose and Ba was substituted in the 43rd minute. Newcastle went on to win the game 3–2. After a run of seven games without scoring, Ba scored in a 1–0 win against West Bromwich Albion at Stamford Bridge on 2 March. On 1 April, Ba scored a goal from a long

Juan Mata Juan Manuel Mata García (born 28 April 1988) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Turkish Süper Lig club Galatasaray. He mostly plays as a central attacking midfielder, but he can also play on the wing. A gr ...

cross in the FA Cup quarter-final replay against Manchester United, giving Chelsea a 1–0 victory and a spot at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

against Manchester City in the semi-finals of the competition. He was cup-tied for Chelsea's victorious

2012–13 UEFA Europa League The 2012–13 UEFA Europa League was the 42nd season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 4th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. The final was played at the Amsterdam Aren ...

campaign.

2013–14 season

For the 2013–14 season, Ba's squad number was switched from 29 to 19, his squad number while at

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

. In the summer transfer window, Ba was linked with transfers to his former clubs Newcastle United and West Ham United. Ba was on the verge of joining Arsenal on a season-long loan, but the move fell through. It was later revealed that the move fell through thanks to Chelsea intervention, though Ba himself considered moving to Arsenal. He scored his first goal of the season after coming on as a substitute in Champions League match against Schalke in a 3–0 victory. Ba's first

goal of the season sealed Chelsea's 3–1 victory over

. He made his first Champions League start on 11 December 2013 and he scored the only goal of the game, as Chelsea won 1–0 against Steaua București. On 8 March 2014, he scored twice after coming on as a 76th-minute substitute in a 4–0 win over

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

. On 8 April 2014, Ba scored an 87th-minute goal in the Champions League quarter-final second-leg against

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...

to send Chelsea through to the semi-finals. On 13 April, he scored the winning goal as Chelsea won 1–0 at Swansea City. On 27 April, during Chelsea's third final match against

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, Steven Gerrard slipped over while receiving a pass which allowed Ba to score, resulting in Chelsea winning the game 2–0, helping them to stay in the race for the Premier League title. Having only scored 14 goals since his arrival in January 2013, Ba fell behind fellow strikers

Samuel Eto'o Samuel Eto'o Fils (; born 10 March 1981) is a Cameroonian football administrator and former player who is the current president of the Cameroonian Football Federation from 11 December 2021. In his prime, Eto'o was regarded by pundits as one of ...

and

Fernando Torres Fernando José Torres Sanz (; born 20 March 1984) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the current manager of Atlético Madrid Juvenil A. Due to his consistent goalscoring rate as a young player, ...

, having spent most of the season being on the sidelines. After the arrival of

Diego Costa Diego da Silva Costa (, ; born 7 October 1988), commonly known as Diego Costa, is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers and the Spain national team. Costa began his football care ...

in the summer, Chelsea decided to allow Ba to search for a new club despite his intention to stay for the 2014–15 season.

Beşiktaş

On 16 July 2014, Beşiktaş J.K. of the Turkish

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

signed Ba from Chelsea for €6 million. He was given the number 9 shirt. Ba made his official competitive debut for the club against

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club (association football), football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names bef ...

in the first-leg of

third qualifying round Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hig ...

of the

2014–15 UEFA Champions League The 2014–15 UEFA Champions League was the 60th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 23rd season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. The final was pl ...

, coming on as a substitute for

Oğuzhan Özyakup Oğuzhan Özyakup (born 23 September 1992), also known as Ozzie or Ozzy, is a Turkish-Dutch professional footballer who plays for Eredivisie club Fortuna Sittard as a midfielder. Born in Zaandam, the Netherlands, Özyakup has previously featured ...

in the 59th minute, as the match ended 2–1 for Beşiktaş. In the second-leg in Istanbul, which was the first time he was in the starting eleven, Ba scored three goals, marking his first hat-trick with the Turkish club in which ended 3–1. On 19 August, Ba tried a straight shot right after the kick-off, which was saved by Arsenal keeper

Wojciech Szczęsny Wojciech Tomasz Szczęsny (; born 18 April 1990) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Juventus and the Poland national team. After starting his club career at Legia Warsaw, Szczęsny signed for Arsenal in Jan ...

Play-off Round The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

first leg, which ended 0–0. Ba made a great start to Turkish top flight and scored eight times in 10 games for Besiktas over the first twelve weeks of the season. In UEFA Europa League, Ba proved to be instrumental for Besiktas' success and managed to score five times in five games while Besiktas advanced for the knockout phase.

Shanghai Shenhua

On 28 June 2015, it was confirmed that Ba had signed a three-year deal with

club

. He made his debut on 11 July, starting in a 1–1 draw at

Tianjin Teda Tianjin Jinmen Tiger Football Club is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Tianjin, and their home stadium is t ...

, and scored his first goal four days later in a 3–1 home win over

Beijing Guoan Beijing Guoan Football Club () is a professional football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in the Chaoyang District in Beijing and their hom ...

. Ba finished the season with six goals in 11 games, including a hat-trick in the final game on 31 October, a 3–1 win over Jiangsu Sainty, also at the Hongkou Stadium. Although Shanghai lost to Jiangsu Sainty in the

2015 Chinese FA Cup Yanjing Beer 2015 Chinese FA Cup () was the 17th edition of Chinese FA Cup. Schedule Qualifying rounds Group A Group B ;Tiebreakers *Guangzhou Haoxin, Dalianwan Qianguan and Dalian Ruiheng are ranked on head-to-head record. ...

final, Ba won the titles of 2015 Chinese FA Cup Most Valuable Player and Top Scorer. In Ba's second season at Shanghai Shenhua, he scored 14 goals in 18 Super League games, including hat-tricks in wins against Shijiazhuang Ever Bright on 3 April 2016, and Hangzhou Greentown on 19 June. On 17 July, Ba broke his leg during a match against

Shanghai SIPG Shanghai Port FC (), previously named Shanghai SIPG, is a professional football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Pudong, Shanghai, and their home sta ...

when he was knocked off balance by Sun Xiang and fell with his leg twisting under him. Shenhua coach

Gregorio Manzano Gregorio "Goyo" Manzano Ballesteros (; born 11 March 1956) is a Spanish football manager. Football career Born in Bailén, Jaén, Andalusia, Manzano's training career started in 1983 at the age of 27. He took charge of several teams in his nat ...

stated the injury could potentially "end his professional career." French doctor Olivier Bringer performed surgery on Ba's fractured leg successfully on 22 July. After the operation, Bringer affirmed that Ba would be able to play football in a few months.

Return to Turkey

On 31 January 2017, Beşiktaş confirmed that Ba will join the club on loan from Shanghai Shenhua until May 2017. On 31 January 2018, Ba joined Turkish Süper Lig side

Göztepe S.K. Göztepe Spor Kulübü (, Göztepe Sports Club), also known as Göztepe, is a Turkish sports club based in the Göztepe and Güzelyalı neighborhoods of İzmir. The "AŞ" refers to ''incorporated company'', as besides football, the club also ...

on a free transfer. Ba scored seven goals and assisted one goal in 13 matches before rejoining

Return to Shanghai Shenhua

Ba rejoined

on 14 June 2018. On 18 July 2018, he made his return debut and scored the winning goal in a 1–0 home win over

Tianjin TEDA Tianjin Jinmen Tiger Football Club is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Tianjin, and their home stadium is t ...

İstanbul Başakşehir

In January 2019, Ba terminated his contract with Shenhua by mutual consent and joined Turkish club İstanbul Başakşehir. On 19 July 2020, Ba became a champion of Turkey for a second time in his career as Başakşehir were crowned

champions with a 1–0 win over

Kayserispor Kayseri Spor Kulübü, commonly known as Kayserispor, is a Turkish professional football club based in Kayseri. They play their home matches at the Kadir Has Stadium in red and yellow kits. The team has won one Turkish Cup in 2008 and also fi ...

. Ba netted in Başakşehir's 2–3 defeat to Kasımpaşa on the final day of the league season, finishing the

campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

as the club's top league scorer with 13 goals.

FC Lugano

On 19 June 2021, Ba signed a one-year contract for Swiss Super League club

FC Lugano FC Lugano is a Swiss football club based in Lugano. The club was refounded as AC Lugano in 2004 as a result of relegation and the financial situation of FC Lugano, which was founded in 1908. In 2008, the club reverted to its original name, FC Lu ...

on a free transfer. However, less than three months later on 13 September, Ba announced he had retired from professional football.

International career

Ba played a total of 22 games and scored three goals for

Personal life

Ba is a practising Muslim. In 2013, He refused, like

Hatem Ben Arfa Hatem Ben Arfa ( ar, حاتم بن عرفة, ; born 7 March 1987) is a French professional footballer who plays as a winger and attacking midfielder. Known for his flair and dribbling ability, he is regarded as a fan favorite with a cult follow ...

and

Cheick Tioté Cheick Ismaël Tioté (; 21 June 1986 – 5 June 2017) was an Ivorian professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. After playing youth football for FC Bibo in his hometown of Yamoussoukro, he made his professional debut in 200 ...

, to wear the new sponsor's name on their shirts because Wonga.com is a British payday loan firm, and according to Sharia law, Muslims must not benefit from either lending money or receiving money from another person - meaning that charging interest is prohibited. He observes fasting during the Islamic month of Ramadan, along with celebrating his goals by performing the Sujud by bowing towards

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow ...

. In 2014, when he played for Chelsea, Ba put his jersey up for sale at auction for financing Collective Against Islamophobia in France (CCIF). He declared after the

Charlie Hebdo shooting On 7 January 2015, at about 11:30 a.m. CET local time, two French Muslim terrorists and brothers, Saïd and Chérif Kouachi, forced their way into the offices of the French satirical weekly newspaper ''Charlie Hebdo'' in Paris. Armed with ...

: In 2017, He brings with

Nicolas Anelka Nicolas Sébastien Anelka (; born 14 March 1979) is a French professional football manager and retired player who played as a forward. As a player, he regularly featured in his country's national team, often scoring at crucial moments. Known f ...

funding to the Pan-Africanist association created by Kémi Séba, an anti-colonial activist with several convictions for anti-Semitism. In August 2020, Ba called on football to condemn China's treatment of

Uighurs The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghu ...

. On 26 June 2017, Ba co-founded with

Eden Hazard Eden Michael Walter Hazard (born 7 January 1991) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for La Liga club Real Madrid. Known for his creativity, dribbling, passing and vision, Hazard is considered o ...

Yohan Cabaye Yohan Cabaye (; born 14 January 1986) is a French former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Cabaye began his football career playing for hometown club US Tourcoing at the age of six. After seven years developing in the club's ...

and Moussa Sow an expansion North American Soccer League franchise,

San Diego 1904 FC San Diego 1904 FC was an American professional soccer team based in San Diego, California, United States. In December 2021, the team was absorbed by Albion San Diego, which effectively took over 1904's membership in the National Independent S ...

, to begin playing in 2018. In 2021, San Diego 1904 FC merged with

Albion San Diego Albion San Diego, formerly Albion SC Pros, is an American professional soccer team based in San Diego, California that currently plays in the National Independent Soccer Association, on the third tier of the United States soccer league system. ...

, which made Ba the head owner of the newly merged team.

Career statistics

Club

International

Source: :''Scores and results list Senegal's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ba goal.''

Honours

Beşiktaş *

: 2016–17 İstanbul Başakşehir *Süper Lig: 2019–20 Individual *

: December 2011 *

Chinese FA Cup The Chinese FA Cup (, abbreviated as CFA Cup) is the national knockout cup competition in China organized by the Chinese Football Association. Its current holders are Shandong Taishan, having beaten Shanghai Port in 2021 for a record seventh tit ...

Most Valuable Player: 2015 *

Team of the Year:

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

References

External links