Richmond Yiadom Boakye (born 28 January 1993) is a Ghanaian 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 ...

who plays as a striker.

Club career

Early career

Born in Accra, Greater Accrai, Boakye began his career with Bechem United in his native country of

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

. He eventually moved to Agogo,

Asante Akim North District Asante Akim North District is one of the forty-three districts in Ashanti Region, Ghana. Originally it was formerly part of the then-larger and original Asante Akim North District in 1988 (capital: Konongo), which it was created from the former ...

based club, D.C. United and remained until 2008 when he was scouted by

Genoa C.F.C. Genoa Cricket and Football Club, commonly referred to as Genoa (), is a professional football club based in Genoa, Liguria, Italy, that competes in , the second division of the Italian football league system. Established in 1893, Genoa is ...

following a tournament in

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a thr ...

, Italy.

Genoa

Following his transfer to

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

in 2009, Boakye spent the 2009–10 Serie A season, playing in the Campionato Nazionale Primavera for the

Liguria it, Ligure , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

n club. On 3 April 2010, Boakye made his

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

debut, in a match against Livorno. He came off the bench as a substitute for

David Suazo Óscar David Suazo Velázquez (born 5 November 1979) is a Honduran retired professional footballer turned coach who played as a striker. Suazo played more than 300 league games and scored over 980 league goals in Italy during a span of 7 yea ...

in the 13th minute and scored the opening goal, and the match ended in a 1–1 draw. On 2 May, he played in his second match, replacing

Giuseppe Sculli Giuseppe Sculli (born 23 March 1981) is a retired Italian footballer who played in several positions; primarily a striker, he could play anywhere along the front-line, and also played as a winger, as a second striker, and even as a right-sid ...

as a 71st minute substitute. In the process he played often for Genoa's Primavera side, winning the Scudetto,

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

and two Supercoppa Primavera with the Rossoblu.

Sassuolo

On 21 June 2011, Boakye officially joined

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had been ...

outfit

Sassuolo Sassuolo (; egl, label= Modenese, Sasól ) is an Italian town, ''comune'', and industrial centre of the Province of Modena in Emilia-Romagna. Standing on the right bank of the river Secchia some southwest of Modena, the town is best known f ...

on a one-year loan deal that proved very successful for the Ghanaian; he managed to score 12 goals in 36 appearances for the club that missed promotion to

via a promotion play-off loss on aggregate to

U.C. Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, ...

during the 2011–12. His loan deal was extended for an extra year for the after signing for Juventus in 2012. The following season, the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, he scored 11 league goals in 32 league appearances, ended as the club's joint top scorer and helped them to win the Serie B thus achieving direct promotion to Serie A and ensuring a first top-flight campaign ever in the club's history for the 2013–14 season.

Juventus

His performances for the ''Neroverde'' did not go unnoticed, as the player was eventually signed by reigning Serie A champions

Juventus FC )''I Bianconeri'' (The White and Blacks)''Le Zebre'' (The Zebras)''La Signora Omicidi'' (The Killer Lady)''La Gheuba'' (: The Hunchback) , founded = as Sport-Club Juventus , ground = Juventus Stadium , capacity = 41,507 , owner = Agnell ...

on a co-ownership deal from

in July 2012. After joining the club, however, he returned to Sassuolo on a second season-long loan deal with the club. Juventus paid nothing in cash but cancelled the transfer debt owed to Genoa with the sale of

Ciro Immobile Ciro Immobile (born 20 February 1990) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Lazio, which he captains, and the Italy national team. Immobile began his career at Sorrento. In 2009, he was purchased by Juv ...

on a similar co-ownership deal in January 2012. Boakye returned to Juventus on 30 June 2013 but was later loaned to

Elche Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,2013–14 season. He finished the season having scored 6 goals in 31 league appearances (12 starts) for the Spanish club, and returned again to Juventus on 30 June 2014, after the co-ownership with Genoa was renewed just ten days prior.

Atalanta

On 21 July 2014, Genoa sold half of Boakye's 50% registration rights to

Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology ...

for €1.3 million, with Juventus retained the other half. On 23 June 2015, Atalanta bought Boakye outright from Juventus for €1.6 million. On 31 August 2015, Boakye left for Dutch club

Roda JC Sportvereniging Roda Juliana Combinatie Kerkrade (; Ripuarian: ), also known as Roda JC Kerkrade () or commonly Roda JC or Roda, is a Dutch professional football club based in Kerkrade, Netherlands. Roda JC Kerkrade plays in the Eerste Divisi ...

Latina

In January 2016, Boakye was sold to

Latina Latina or Latinas most often refers to: * Latinas, a demographic group in the United States * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America. *Latin Americans Latina and Latinas may also refer ...

in a temporary deal, with an obligation to sign outright at the end of season for an undisclosed fee.

Red Star Belgrade

In January 2017, he came on a year-and-a-half loan to a Serbian team

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional football club based in Bel ...

. Boakye impressed at Red Star Belgrade with his performances based the time he spent from January to May in the club. He scored an impressive 16 goals in 19 games in all competitions, and won the best player of the week on two occasions within the

Serbian Superliga The Serbian Super League ( sr, Супер лига Србије / Super liga Srbije), referred to as the Mozzart Bet Super League ( sr, Моцарт Бет Супер лига / Mozzart Bet Super liga) for sponsorship reasons, is a Serbian profes ...

. The season was marked by fierce rivalry between Red Star and Partizan and the owner of the trophy was decided only in the last round of the championship and ended up in Partizan hands, with Red Star finishing second. He made 18 appearances, spent 1375 minutes in game, and scored 16 goals. He was unable to fight for the league top scorer title as he arrived during winter break and missed the first half of the season. His great performances influenced Ghana national team coach

James Kwesi Appiah James Kwesi Appiah (born 30 June 1960), also known as Akwasi Appiah, is a Ghanaian football coach and former player who played as a left back. He is currently the head coach of Kenpong Football Academy. Early life and education Appiah was born ...

to ask Boakye to join the Ghana national team as soon as he gets released by Red Star for summer holidays. Boakye also became a free agent on 29 May, after the bankruptcy of Latina. Red Star Belgrade signed Boakye on a permanent deal on 27 June 2017. He started the season with 5 goals in the first 3 games of qualifying matches of the club in 2017–18 UEFA Europa League. He added two more goals in his fifth and sixth games of Europa League qualifying match appearances. On 14 December 2017, he was elected by the direction board as the Red Star player of the year in 2017. His performances with Red Star attracted the interest of numerous foreign teams in the winter of 2017–18.

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 ...

and their coach

Antonio Conte Antonio Conte (; born 31 July 1969) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. Playing as a midfielder, Conte began his career at local club Lecce and later ...

had scouted him closely over the course of the 2017–18 winter transfer window.

Jiangsu Suning

On 27 February 2018, Boakye was transferred to

Jiangsu Suning Jiangsu Football Club (), later known as Jiangsu Sainty F.C. (2000–2016) and Jiangsu Suning F.C. (2016–2021), was a professional football club that participated in the Chinese Super League since 2009 until its dissolution in 2021. The tea ...

for a reported

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

5.5 million fee.

Return to Red Star Belgrade

On 31 August 2018, Boakye signed a new 2.5-year contract with an optional one-year extension for Red Star in a

2.5 million transfer, just six months after the transfer to

. He contributed to Red Star's 2018-19 UEFA Champions League campaign, as the team qualified to the group stage for the first time after 27 years. After becoming the best foreigner goalscorer in the history of the club, Boakye became the first foreigner to wear a Red Star jersey over two separate terms. On 15 September 2018, he scored a brace against Radnik Surdulica in his first match since returning to Red Star. On 23 September 2018, he scored a header against

Partizan Partizan may refer to: Sport * JSD Partizan, a sports society from Belgrade, Serbia, which includes the following clubs: **AK Partizan, athletics ** Biciklistički Klub Partizan, cycling ** Džudo Klub Partizan, judo **FK Partizan, association fo ...

in the eternal derby, which ended in a 1–1 tie.

Górnik Zabrze

On 9 February 2021, Boakye signed a short-term contract with Polish football club

Górnik Zabrze Górnik Zabrze Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Górnik Zabrze S.A. or simply Górnik Zabrze (), is a Polish football club from Zabrze. Górnik is one of the most successful Polish football clubs in history, winning the second-most Po ...

until the end of the 2020–21 season on a free transfer with an option to extend.

Beitar Jerusalem

On 20 July 2021, Boakye signed for

Beitar Jerusalem Beitar Jerusalem Football Club ( he, מועדון כדורגל בית"ר ירושלים, Moadon Kaduregel Beitar Yerushalayim), commonly known as Beitar Jerusalem () or simply as Beitar (), is an Israeli football club based in the city of Jerus ...

on a one-year contract, with an option to extend for a further one year. He left the club at the end of this contract on 30 July 2022.

Lamia

On 17 August 2022, Boakye has signed for

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

side

Lamia LaMia Corporation S.R.L., operating as LaMia (short for ''Línea Aérea Mérida Internacional de Aviación''), was a Bolivian charter airline headquartered in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, as an EcoJet subsidiary. It had its origins from the failed ...

on a free transfer for the new season.

Al Akhdar SC

On 22 January 2023, Boakye has completed a transfer move to

Libyan Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. The ...

side Al Akhdar SC in the ongoing January transfer window. He made his debut for Al Akhdar on 3 March, in a 1–1 away draw against Al-Suqoor, playing the entire game. He scored his first goal for the club on 9 March, scored a 90th-minute stoppage time equaliser during a 1–1 home draw against Saint-Éloi Lupopo in

2022–23 CAF Confederation Cup The 2022–23 CAF Confederation Cup (officially the 2022–23 TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup for sponsorship reasons) is the 20th edition of Africa's secondary club association football, football tournament organized by the Confederation of A ...

. On 27 May 2023, Boakye has terminated his contract with Al-Akhdar. He made significant contributions, scoring three goals and providing two assists in 11 appearances across all competitions.

Selangor

On 28 June 2023, Boakye signed for

Malaysia Super League The Malaysia Super League ( ms, Liga Super Malaysia) is the men's top professional football division of the Malaysian football league system. Administered by the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnership (FMLLP), now known as the Malays ...

side

Selangor Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...

. On 9 July, he made his debut for the club as a substitute to

Ayron del Valle Ayron del Valle Rodríguez (born January 27, 1989) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Malaysia Super League club Selangor Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity" ...

, in a 1–0 loss against Sri Pahang in the league. A week later, he scored his first goal in a league match against Penang, which Selangor won 3–0. Boakye scored his first hat-trick for the club against

Kelantan Kelantan (; Jawi: ; Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate'') is a state in Malaysia. The capital is Kota Bharu and royal seat is Kubang Kerian. The honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' (Jawi: ; "The Blissful Abode"). Kelantan is located in th ...

in a massive 2–11 away victory on 25 August 2023.

International career

Boakye received an international call-up by the Ghana national team for the

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against China at the

Tianhe Stadium Tianhe Stadium () is a multi-purpose stadium in Tianhe District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It is currently used for football matches. History Construction of the stadium began on 4 July 1984 at the former site of Guangzhou Tianhe Airport. ...

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

on 15 August 2012. Boakye scored his first goal for Ghana on his debut, an equaliser in the 80th minute of the match. He also played for Ghana at the

2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the nineteenth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, since its inception in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Championship. It ran from 21 June to 13 July 2013. At the FIFA Executive Meeting in Zürich on 3 March 2011, ...

, winning the bronze medal.

Personal life

Whilst on loan playing for Elche in the La Liga in 2013, Boakye revealed that he is Real Madrid fan even though when he was growing up everyone in his family supported Manchester United and

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Ghana's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Boakye goal.''

Honours

Genoa Primavera * Campionato Nazionale Primavera: 2009–10 * Coppa Italia Primavera: 2008–09 * Supercoppa Primavera: 2009, 2010 Sas *

Red Star Belgrade *

Serbian SuperLiga The Serbian Super League ( sr, Супер лига Србије / Super liga Srbije), referred to as the Mozzart Bet Super League ( sr, Моцарт Бет Супер лига / Mozzart Bet Super liga) for sponsorship reasons, is a Serbian profes ...

: 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20,

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

Ghana U20 *

FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 whe ...

: third place

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

Individual * Serbian SuperLiga Player of the week: ( 2016–2017 Round 27 & 37)( 2017–2018 Round 17 & 18) ( 2018–2019 Round 8) *'' Večernje novosti'' captains' poll Serbian Super Liga Best Player award: 2017–18. * Red Star Belgrade player of the year: 2017

References

External links