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Sports News of Tuesday, 22 January 2019

Source: ghanasoccernet.com

Boateng becomes first Ghanaian, 14th African to join Barcelona

Kevin-Prince Boateng has been signed by FC Barcelona Kevin-Prince Boateng has been signed by FC Barcelona

Ghana forward Kevin-Prince Boateng completed a loan switch from US Sassuolo to Barcelona on Monday, becoming the 14th African player to don the Blaugrana jersey.

The 31-year-old Ghana international has joined from Serie A club Sassuolo in a £1.8m deal which includes an option to buy for £7.1m in the summer.

Boateng became a vital cog for the Neroverdi after joining from Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer, scoring four goals in 13 games.

The former Tottenham Hotspurs attacker will be available for the first leg of Barcelona's Copa del Rey quarter-final clash against Sevilla on Wednesday night.

Boateng will hope to follow in the footsteps of Samuel Eto'o, Yaya Toure and Emmanuel Amunike as he becomes the 14th African to play for the Catalan club.

Below is the list of African players of Barcelona;

Wilfrid Kaptoum

The Cameroonian joined the Barcelona's youth ranks in 2008, aged 12, after a stint in Samuel Eto'o's foundation.He was subsequently loaned to neighbouring UE Sant Andreu, and in June 2014 was promoted to the reserves in Segunda División

Jean Marie Dongou

Born in Douala, Dongou joined FC Barcelona in 2008 at the age of 13, arriving through the Samuel Eto'o Foundation. He made his Segunda División debut for the B-team on 28 January 2012 when he still had not celebrated his 17th birthday, in a match against SD Huesca where he came on as an 85th-minute substitute for Rodri.

Samuel Eto'o

Eto'o was regarded by pundits as one of the best strikers in the world, and he is regarded as one of the greatest African players of all time, winning the African Player of the Year a record four times: in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2010.

Edgar Ié

Born in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, Ié joined Sporting Clube de Portugal's youth system in 2008, aged 14. In the 2012 summer, after concluding his formation, he moved to FC Barcelona in Spain alongside teammate and countryman Agostinho Cá. He currently plays for Lille in France.

Alex Song

The Cameroonian signed a five-year contract with Barcelona for a £15 million transfer fee. He made his Barcelona debut against Real Madrid in the 2012 Supercopa de España on 29 August 2012 as a substitute for the last 15 minutes, finishing the match with a perfect passing statistic. He played 20 matches in Barcelona's La Liga-winning campaign in his first season, and scored one goal, in a 3–1 home win against Real Zaragoza on 17 November 2012.

Yaya Touré

Touré joined Spanish side Barcelona for €10 million (£6.7 million) and made his official debut for the club on 26 August 2007 during the La Liga season opener against Racing de Santander.

In the 2007 Joan Gamper Trophy match against Inter Milan, Touré scored his first goal for Barcelona in the 5–0 victory. He scored his first official goal with Barcelona in a La Liga match against Athletic Bilbao on 2 September 2007, a 3–1 win. His first UEFA Champions League match for Barça was against Schalke 04 in the 2007–08 quarter-final, securing a 2–0 aggregate victory and a berth in the semi-final.

During the early stages of the 2008–09 season, newly appointed manager Pep Guardiola favoured Sergio Busquets in the defensive role of Barcelona's midfield trio. In the 2009 Champions League Final, Touré played at centre back due to injuries and suspensions of first-choice defenders, despite having only played there twice before for Barcelona. In late June 2010, Barcelona confirmed that Touré would be allowed to leave the club in the summer.

Samuel Okunowo

Born in Ibadan, Okunowo signed with La Liga club FC Barcelona at only 18. In the 1998–99 season he competed for the starting spot in the first team with Michael Reiziger, and managed 21 appearances all competitions comprised (15 starts) as the Catalans went on to win the national championship.

Gerardo Miranda

Gerardo was born in Mauritania, French West Africa. During his career he played for UD Las Palmas and FC Barcelona, retiring in 1990 at his first club in the second division. His best season came in 1984–85, appearing in 28 matches and scoring three goals as the Catalans won the La Liga title.

Jorge Alberto Mendonça

Born in Luanda, Portuguese Angola, Mendonça started his career with S.C. Braga. In early 1958, the 19-year-old moved to Spain where he would remain for the rest of his playing days, representing Deportivo de La Coruña for a couple of months then signing for Atlético Madrid. He made his debut for the latter club on 14 September in a 2–0 home win against Real Oviedo, scoring the closer in the game; three days later he was one four players netting braces in an 8–0 trouncing of Drumcondra F.C. for the season's European Cup.

During his nine-year spell at the Vicente Calderón Stadium, Mendonça would never appear in more than 25 La Liga matches, but was a solid attacking contributor as the Colchoneros won three Copa del Rey trophies and the 1962 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, with the player scoring in the final's replay, a 3–0 triumph over ACF Fiorentina. He left with official totals of 235 games and 91 goals, retiring in June 1970 after unassuming top flight spells with FC Barcelona (two seasons) and RCD Mallorca.

José Antonio Ramos Huete

Born in Tétouan, Morocco, Ramos moved to Spain at early age and made his senior debuts with CE Mataró in 1969 at the age of 18, in Tercera División. After two seasons as a starter (suffering relegation in his second), he moved straight to La Liga, signing for RCD Espanyol.

He spent most of his career in La Liga, amassing 244 appearances during 11 seasons, with Espanyol and Barcelona.

Emmanuel Amunike

The former Nigerian international was bought by La Liga giants FC Barcelona for $3.6 million, making his official debut on the 22nd in a 1–0 home win against Celta de Vigo and scoring on 15 March of the following year in a 1–0 success at CD Logroñés. His spell in Catalonia would be effectively ended in the 1997 off-season after he suffered a serious knee injury, following which he appeared very rarely for the club (only three league games in three full seasons combined).

Samuel Umtiti

Umtiti, who was born in Yaounde, Cameroon, signed for La Liga side Barcelona for a fee of €25 million. On 17 August, Umtiti made his first appearance for Barcelona in the second leg of the 2016 Supercopa de España which Barcelona won 3–0 versus Sevilla and lifted the trophy.

Seydou Keita

Keita agreed to a four-year deal with FC Barcelona who paid his €14 million buy-out clause (making Lens eligible to receive €1.3 million from Sevilla). He became the first Malian player to ever represent the Catalans.