Abdul Rahman Baba (born 2 July 1994), also known as Baba Rahman, 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 lea ...

who plays as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

for

Greek Super League The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

club

PAOK PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...

and the Ghana national team. Beginning his career at

Dreams FC Dreams Football Club is a Ghanaian professional football club founded in 2009 and based in Dawu in the country's Eastern Region that competes in the Ghana Premier League. On 18 June 2023, they won the FA Cup to gain entry into the CAF Confede ...

, he played in the Ghanaian Premier League with

Asante Kotoko Asante Kotoko Sporting Club, simply known as Asante Kotoko, is a professional sports, professional association football, football club founded on 31 August 1935 and based in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Nicknamed the ''African crested ...

. In 2012, he signed for

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

club Greuther Fürth, where he spent two seasons. He then played for

FC Augsburg Fußball-Club Augsburg 1907 e. V., commonly known as FC Augsburg (), is a Football in Germany, German professional football club based in Augsburg, Bavaria. FC Augsburg play in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system. T ...

before joining Chelsea in 2015 for a fee of £14 million, potentially rising to £22 million. Rahman made his international debut in 2014 and was part of their squad which were runners-up at the

2015 Africa Cup of Nations The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, Equatorial Guinea 2015 for sponsorship reasons, was the 30th staging of the Africa Cup of Nations, the international men's football championship of Africa. It was org ...

Early life

Abdul Rahman Baba was born on 2 July 1994, in

Tamale A tamale, in Spanish language, Spanish , is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of ''masa'', a dough made from nixtamalization, nixtamalized maize, corn, which is steaming, steamed in a corn husk or Banana leaf, banana leaves. The wrapping ...

in the Northern Region of

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

to Alhaji Baba (Zobognaa) and Hajia Fati Baba Sibdoo. He attended Our Lady Of Fatima JHS and Young Dakpem’yili JHS, all in Tamale. He made his footballing debut with his local team Young Meteors Tamale playing for them from 2004 to 2010, before being scouted by Dreams FC, an

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

based club at the age of 16.

Club career

Ghana

Rahman began his career at

of the Ghana Division Two. After impressive performances, he was then transferred on loan to

of the Ghanaian Premier League for one season. For the 2012 season, Rahman was a finalist for the league's Discovery of the Year Award, eventually losing to Joshua Oninku. After becoming a sought after player during his time with the

Kumasi Kumasi is a city and the capital of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly and the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It is the second largest city in the country, with a population of 443,981 as of the 2021 census. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region ...

-based club, serious enquiries were made about the player by

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

and

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

of the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

and

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

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Germany

upleft, Rahman with Greuther Fürth in 2012 However, Rahman eventually signed with newly promoted Greuther Fürth in the

on 12 June 2012. Rahman stated that his decision to join Fürth was because the club offered, "the best conditions to further develop my career." In the derby against 1. FC Nürnberg on 11 August 2014 he scored his first two goals for Fürth in a 5–1 home victory. The next day he signed with

of the same division. In Rahman's 2014–15 season with Augsburg, he made 108 tackles, more than any other player in the Bundesliga that season. Using aspects of his strength and pace, he was able to win 90 of those tackles, coming out to an 83% successful tackle rate. That season, Rahman also had 83 interceptions and won 80 contested aerial balls. Baba Rahman 20160416

Chelsea

2015–16 season

On 16 August 2015, Rahman signed for Chelsea on a five-year deal for an undisclosed fee, reported to be an initial £14 million, rising to a potential fee of almost £22 million. He made his debut on 16 September in a

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

tie, playing the full 90 minutes in a 4–0 win at home to

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv () is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such as football, basketball, j ...

. He made his

debut in a 2–0 win over

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

at Stamford Bridge on 17 October. He played at left-back in games including their 2–1 Champions League win over

Dynamo Kyiv The Football Club 'Dynamo Kyiv', also known as Dynamo Kyiv, or simply Dynamo, ( ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society ...

. On 27 February, Rahman made an error which allowed

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

Shane Long Shane Patrick Long (born 22 January 1987) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a striker. Long began his football career at Cork City. He later moved to Reading where, among other achievements, he scored three goals in ten s ...

to score in the 42nd minute; he was substituted for Kenedy at half time but Chelsea eventually won 2–1 at St. Mary's.

Schalke 04 (loan)

On 2 August 2016,

FC Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as Schalke 04 (), and abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional sports club from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its football team, ...

, confirmed that Rahman had moved on a season-long loan to the club after failing to impress the new Chelsea manager

Antonio Conte Antonio Conte (; born 31 July 1969) is an Italian professional Association football, football manager and former player who is currently the head coach of Serie A club Napoli. He is widely regarded as one of the best football managers in the wo ...

during pre-season. Rahman was given the number 14 jersey for the upcoming season. He was signed by his former Augsburg manager,

Markus Weinzierl Markus Weinzierl (born 28 December 1974) is a German football coach, who last managed 1. FC Nürnberg. As the manager of Jahn Regensburg, a position he held from 2008 to 2012, Weinzierl achieved promotion into the 2. Bundesliga. On 17 May 201 ...

. Rahman told the local newspaper ''

Ruhr Nachrichten ''Ruhr Nachrichten'' is a daily newspaper that has been published in Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-larges ...

'' that Conte advised him to leave on loan because he preferred more defensive players than him. Rahman made his competitive debut for the

Gelsenkirchen Gelsenkirchen (, , ; ) is the List of cities in Germany by population, 25th-most populous city of Germany and the 11th-most populous in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 262,528 (2016) inhabitants. On the Emscher, Emscher River (a tribu ...

team on 20 August, as a winger instead of a defender in a 4–1 victory against FC 08 Villingen in the first round of the

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

. He made his league debut on 27 August, coming on for

Sead Kolašinac Sead Kolašinac (; born 20 June 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Serie A club Atalanta. Born in Germany, he plays for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. Kolašinac started his professional career at Sch ...

in the 62nd minute of an eventual 1–0 loss at

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a German professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German footb ...

on the first day of the season. Rahman scored his first goal for Schalke on 15 September, the game's only in a Europa League victory at

OGC Nice Olympique Gymnaste Club de Nice (), commonly referred to as OGC Nice or simply Nice, is a French professional association football, football club based in Nice. The club was founded in 1904 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the top tier of Footb ...

. In January 2018, Rahman joined Schalke 04 on loan for a second time agreeing an 18-month stay until summer 2019.

Reims (loan)

In January 2019, he returned early to Chelsea and was immediately loaned to

Stade de Reims Stade de Reims () is a French professional football club based in Reims. The club was formed in 1931 and plays in Ligue 2, the second tier of football in France. Reims plays home matches at the Stade Auguste Delaune. Reims is one of the mo ...

until the end of the season.

Mallorca (loan)

On 2 September 2019, the last day of transfer window, Rahman was again loaned out in a season-long deal, this time to newly promoted

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

side

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

PAOK (loan)

On 30 January 2021, Rahman was loaned out to

for the remainder of the 2020–21 season. He made his debut for the Greek side against

Lamia Lamia (; ), in ancient Greek mythology, was a child-eating monster and, in later tradition, was regarded as a type of night-haunting spirit or "daimon". In the earliest myths, Lamia was a beautiful queen of ancient Libya who had an affair with ...

on 20 February scoring the first goal in a 4–0 victory to send his side second in the

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

table.

Reading (loan)

On 27 August 2021, Rahman joined

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

on loan. He made his debut for the club against

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

on 10 September. On 31 August 2022, Rahman rejoined Reading on another season-long-loan.

PAOK

On 10 July 2023, Rahman left Chelsea after eight years and seven loan duties at other clubs. He signed a two-year contract with a one-year extension option to

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

club

. On August 6, 2024, Rahman scored for PAOK on the 75th minute to clinch a 2-2 draw against Malmo in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers for the 2024/25 season.

International career

Rahman played every minute of

's campaign at the

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

, providing the cross from which

André Ayew André Morgan Rami Ayew (; born 17 December 1989), also known as Dede Ayew in Ghana, is a professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for club Le Havre and the Ghana national team, of which he is the captain. Ayew is the second- ...

headed in the winner against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

to win

Group C Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for Touring car racing, touring cars and ''Group B'' for Grand tourer, GTs. It was designed to replace both Group 5 (motorspor ...

. In the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

against the

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

, Rahman scored in the

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

in which his team lost 9–8. Baba Rahman was selected for Ghana's final squad at the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

, and provided an assist during his side's opening match against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

; he produced the cross which was headed into goal by Osman Bukari.

Personal life

Rahman has "Baba" on the back of his jersey, the name of his Chelsea-supporting father. In May 2016, Rahman married his longtime childhood girlfriend, Selma, in their hometown of Tamale in northern Ghana. Rahman started doing philanthropic work in his hometown, Tamale whilst playing in Europe. In 2021, he donated football materials and equipment to his former school and to the Tamale Juvenile Unit to help upcoming sportsmen within the northern part of Ghana.

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Honours

Asante Kotoko *

Ghana Premier League The Ghana Premier League is the top professional association football league in Ghana organized by the Ghana Football Association and formed in 1958 to replace a previous league incarnation, the Gold Coast Club Competition which ran from 1933 ...

: 2011–12 PAOK *

: 2023–24 *

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

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 ...

Ghana *

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

runner-up:

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Individual * Super League Greece Team of the Season: 2023–24

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rahman, Baba 1994 births Living people Footballers from Tamale, Ghana Ghanaian men's footballers Ghana men's international footballers Ghana men's under-20 international footballers Men's association football fullbacks Ghanaian expatriate men's footballers Asante Kotoko S.C. players SpVgg Greuther Fürth players FC Augsburg players Chelsea F.C. players FC Schalke 04 players Stade de Reims players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Premier League players Ligue 1 players RCD Mallorca players La Liga players PAOK FC players Reading F.C. players Super League Greece players 2015 Africa Cup of Nations players 2017 Africa Cup of Nations players 2019 Africa Cup of Nations players 2021 Africa Cup of Nations players 2022 FIFA World Cup players Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in England Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in France Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Greece English Football League players 21st-century Ghanaian sportsmen