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 lea ...

who played as a striker. 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 previously in the third tier of American soccer and began play in 2019. NISA initially used a fall-to-spring season for ...

side Albion San Diego. He made his first-team debut with French team

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

in 2005 before moving to

Mouscron Mouscron (; Dutch language, Dutch and , ; Picard language, Picard and Walloon language, Walloon: ''Moucron'') is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city of Wallonia located in the Belgium, Belgian Hainaut Provinc ...

and then

TSG Hoffenheim Turn- und Sportgemeinschaft 1899 Hoffenheim e.V. (), commonly known as TSG Hoffenheim (), are a German professional football club based in Sinsheim. Originally founded in 1899 as a gymnastics club, Hoffenheim came into being in their modern fo ...

in Germany in 2007. In 2011, he moved to

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 ...

side

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

. 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 sys ...

and Ba moved to

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

. In January 2013, he completed a move to Chelsea for an undisclosed fee, before joining

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 18 km2 and its population is 175,190 (2022). It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and ...

for €6 million 18 months later. After one season in Turkey, he moved to

Shanghai Shenhua Shanghai Shenhua Football Club () is a Chinese professional football club based in Shanghai, that competes in . Shanghai Shenhua plays its home matches at the Shanghai Stadium, located within Xuhui District. The owner of Shanghai Shenhua is ...

of the

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Super League (), commonly known as the Chinese Super League or the CSL (), also known as the China Resources Beverage Chinese Football Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Ch ...

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

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

from 2007 to 2015 and represented the country at the

2012 Africa Cup of Nations The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football (C ...

. On 13 September 2021, he announced his retirement from football.

Early career

Ba was born in

Sèvres Sèvres (, ) is a French Communes of France, commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris. It is located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department of the Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a populatio ...

, 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 Pays de Caux, Caux'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-Maritime Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region in northern France. The ad ...

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

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

, 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 (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

and

Auxerre Auxerre ( , , Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Auchoirre'') is the capital (Prefectures in France, prefecture) of the Yonne Departments of France, department and the fourth-largest city in the Burgundy historical region southeast of Par ...

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

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

manager Ray Lewington 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 Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

, and returned to France after two more unsuccessful trials at Football League sides

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

and Gillingham.

Club career

Rouen

Ba signed with manager Alain Michel because they were both moving to French club

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.

TSG Hoffenheim

On 29 August 2007, Ba moved to 2. Bundesliga 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 and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

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

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

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 Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

on 24 February 2009. In all competitions Ba scored 40 goals in 103 appearances for TSG 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 professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...

, 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 Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

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 former professional 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 2 ...

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 Robert David Keane (born 8 July 1980) is an Irish professional football coach and former player who played as a striker and is currently the head coach of Ferencváros. Keane served as captain of the Republic of Ireland from March 2006 until h ...

during a 1–0 home defeat by

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional 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. The team compete in the ...

. 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 (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

. 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 a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

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

2011–12 season

On 17 June 2011, Ba signed for

on a three-year deal, making his club debut on 13 August 2011 in the 0–0 draw against

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 ...

. 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 Wick ...

against

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level 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 1 ...

for December 2011. By the time Ba left to play in the January

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 association football, footballer who is the head coach of Eredivisie club Feyenoord. He is regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation and was ...

. He left for the tournament on a high note, scoring the first in a 3–0 home win over

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

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 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 Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

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, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

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

Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...

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 Walton, Liverpool, Walton, Liverpool, England, it was the home of Premier League club Everton F.C., Everton from 1892 until 2025. It is now the home of Everton F.C. (women), Everton's ...

. 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 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 ...

, 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 Chelsea. This speculation was confirmed by Newcastle manager

Alan Pardew Alan Scott Pardew (born 18 July 1961) is an English football manager and former professional footballer, who most recently managed Greek Super League club Aris Thessaloniki. Pardew's highest achievements in the sport include reaching the FA Cup ...

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. He received the vacant number 29 shirt. Ba made his debut against

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, ...

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 Timothy Michael Krul (; born 3 April 1988) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Luton Town. Krul's career began at youth clubs RAS and ADO Den Haag before moving to Newcastle United in 2005. At Newcastle, he m ...

. 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 Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for A-League Men club Western Sydney Wanderers FC, Western Sydney Wanderers. He primarily plays as an attacking ...

cross in the FA Cup quarter-final replay against

, 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 the London Borou ...

against

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 ...

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 Are ...

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, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

. 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

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 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as Schalke 04 (), and abbreviated as S04 (), is a Professionalism in association football, professional sports club from the Gelsenkirchen-Schalke, Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, N ...

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 simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

. 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 () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

to send Chelsea through to the semi-finals. On 13 April, he scored the winning goal as Chelsea won 1–0 at

. On 27 April, during Chelsea's third final match against

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

Steven Gerrard Steven George Gerrard MBE (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and a former player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time and one of Liverpool's greatest ever players,Samuel Eto'o Samuel Eto'o Fils (; born 10 March 1981) is a Cameroonian Association football, football administrator and former Football player, player who is the current president of the Cameroonian Football Federation. He is often regarded as one of the ...

and

Fernando Torres Fernando José Torres Sanz (; born 20 March 1984) is a Spanish Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former Football player, player who played as a Striker (association football), striker. He is the curr ...

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

Diego Costa Diego da Silva Costa (, ; born 7 October 1988) is a professional Association football, footballer who most recently played as a Striker (association football), striker for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Grêmio FBPA, Grêmio. Costa be ...

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''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

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 Netherlands, Dutch professional association football, football club based in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football league system, Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the ...

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'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (dis ...

of the

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

, coming on as a substitute for Oğuzhan Özyakup 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

keeper

Wojciech Szczęsny Wojciech Tomasz Szczęsny (; born 18 April 1990) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Barcelona. After starting his club career at Legia Warsaw, Szczęsny signed for Arsenal in January 2006, where he made his ...

at Play-off Round 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, and scored his first goal four days later in a 3–1 home win over

Beijing Guoan Beijing Guoan Football Club (), known in AFC competitions as Beijing FC, is a Chinese professional football club based in Beijing, that competes in . Beijing Guoan plays its home matches at the Workers' Stadium, located within Chaoyang Distr ...

. 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 when he was knocked off balance by Sun Xiang and fell with his leg twisting under him. Shenhua coach Gregorio Manzano 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. on a free transfer. Ba scored seven goals and assisted one goal in 13 matches before rejoining

Return to Shanghai Shenhua

Ba rejoined Shanghai Shenhua 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.

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, and also called Bellona Kayserispor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional football club based in Kayseri. They play their home matches at the RHG Enertürk Enerji Stadium ...

. Ba netted in Başakşehir's 2–3 defeat to Kasımpaşa on the final day of the league season, finishing the campaign as the club's top league scorer with 13 goals. On 8 December 2020, Ba was involved in a racism row with Romanian referee Sebastian Colțescu, who was the fourth official during a Champions League match between Başakşehir and

. Ba heard Colțescu saying "negru", confronted him and the match was abandoned when the players subsequently walked off the pitch.

FC Lugano

On 19 June 2021, Ba signed a one-year contract for

Swiss Super League The Super League (also known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a professional association football league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss football league system. It has been played in its current fo ...

club

FC Lugano FC Lugano is a Swiss professional 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 origina ...

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 Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

. In 2013, He refused, like Papiss Cissé,

Hatem Ben Arfa Hatem Ben Arfa (, ; born 7 March 1987) is a French former professional association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Winger, winger and attacking midfielder. Known for his flair and Dribbling#Association football, dribbling ability, ...

and Cheick Tioté, to wear Newcastle United's new sponsor Wonga.com's name on their shirts because it is a payday loan firm. He observes fasting during the Islamic month of

Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...

, along with celebrating his goals by performing the

Sujud Sujūd (, ), or sajdah (, ), also known as sijda, sejda or shejda, in Islam is the act of low bowing or prostration to God facing the ''qiblah'' (direction of the Kaaba at Mecca). It is usually done in standardized prayers (salah). The positio ...

by bowing towards

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

. In 2014, when he played for Chelsea, Ba put his jersey up for sale at auction for financing the

Collective against Islamophobia in France The Collective Against Islamophobia in France (; abbreviated CCIF) was a French non-profit organisation, created in 2003 and dissolved in 2020, which had the mission to combat discrimination towards Muslims in France, providing legal support to vi ...

(CCIF). He declared after the

Charlie Hebdo shooting On 7 January 2015, at about 11:30 a.m. in Paris, Paris, France, the employees of the French satirical weekly magazine ''Charlie Hebdo'' were targeted in a terrorist shooting attack by two French-born Islam in Algeria, Algerian Muslim bro ...

: In 2017, Ba brought with

Nicolas Anelka Nicolas Sébastien Anelka (born 14 March 1979) is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a Forward (association football), forward. As a player, he regularly featur ...

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

Uyghurs The Uyghurs,. alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central Asia and East Asia. The Uyghurs are recognized as the ti ...

. On 26 June 2017, Ba co-founded with

Eden Hazard Eden Michael Walter Hazard (born 7 January 1991) is a Belgian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Winger (association football), winger or attacking midfielder for Lille OSC, Lille, Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, Real ...

Yohan Cabaye Yohan Cabaye (; born 14 January 1986) is a French former professional association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. Cabaye began his football career playing for hometown club US Tourcoing FC, US Tourcoing at the age of six. Afte ...

and

Moussa Sow Moussa Sow (born 19 January 1986) is a former professional association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward. Born in France, he represented Senegal national football team, Senegal at international level, s ...

an expansion

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

franchise,

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

, to begin playing in 2018. In 2021, San Diego 1904 FC merged with Albion San Diego, 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 The year marked the start of a series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen, and in som ...

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. The current holders are Shanghai Port, having beaten Shandong Taishan in 2024 for their first title. H ...

Most Valuable Player:

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 ...

Team of the Year:

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

References

External links