Jonathan Bamba
Ivorian footballer (born 1996)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jonathan Fousseni Bamba (born 26 March 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a left winger or attacking midfielder for Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire.[4] Born in France, he plays for the Ivory Coast national team.
.jpg)
|
Bamba with the Chicago Fire in 2025 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jonathan Fousseni Bamba[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 26 March 1996[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Alfortville, France | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[3] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | |||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Chicago Fire | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 19 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2005 | CA Paris | ||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2011 | UJA Alfortville | ||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2015 | Saint-Étienne | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2013–2015 | Saint-Étienne B | 51 | (12) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015–2018 | Saint-Étienne | 42 | (8) | ||||||||||||||
| 2016 | → Paris FC (loan) | 14 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2016 | → Sint-Truiden (loan) | 8 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017 | → Angers (loan) | 16 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2023 | Lille | 167 | (27) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023–2025 | Celta Vigo | 39 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Chicago Fire | 36 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | France U16 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2013 | France U18 | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | France U20 | 7 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | France U21 | 21 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Ivory Coast | 10 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 7 March 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 26 March 2024 | |||||||||||||||||
Club career
Saint-Étienne
Jonathan Fousseni Bamba is a graduate of Saint-Étienne youth academy, which he joined in 2011.
Bamba made his Ligue 1 debut on 25 January 2015 against Paris Saint-Germain replacing Yohan Mollo after 82 minutes in a 0–1 home defeat. During the summer of 2015 he scored against Ajax Amsterdam in a pre-season friendly. On 20 September 2015, he started in the Ligue 1 match against Nantes and scored in the 26th minute to register his first competitive goal for Saint-Étienne's first team in a 2–0 home win.[5]
On 18 January 2016, Bamba joined Ligue 2 club Paris FC on loan until the end of the 2015-16 season, with Paris FC not given an option to buy him when the loan expired.[6][7] Bamba was loaned to Belgian First Division A club Sint-Truiden in the summer of 2016. However Sint-Truiden sent him back early to Saint-Etienne during the winter break of the 2016–17 season. On 4 January 2017, Bamba was loaned to Ligue 1 club Angers until the end of the 2016-17 season.[8]
On 24 September 2017, Bamba scored Saint-Étienne's second equalizing goal from the penalty spot in a 2–2 Ligue 1 home draw against Rennes to register his fourth Ligue 1 goal (three of which were penalties) of the 2017–18 season.[9]
Lille
_76.jpg)
On 2 July 2018, Bamba signed a five-year deal with Lille OSC.[10] On 11 August 2018, Bamba made his competitive debut for Lille and scored the final goal of the match in the 3–1 Ligue 1 home win over Stade Rennais. Two weeks later, he played his third Ligue 1 match for Lille and took his 2018–19 Ligue 1 goal tally to three when he scored two goals in the 3–0 Ligue 1 home win over Guingamp.[11] On 30 September, Bamba scored two goals (including a penalty) in the final six minutes of the match in the 3–0 Ligue 1 home win over Marseille.[12] On 6 October, he took his 2018–19 Ligue 1 goal tally to seven (he had scored only seven Ligue 1 goals during the entire 2017–18 season) when he scored two goals again and assisted Nicolas Pépé's goal in a 3–1 Ligue 1 home win over Saint-Étienne.[13]
After a cancelled 2019–20 Ligue 1 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bamba became confirmed as a regular starter, as Lille won their fourth league title during the 2020–21 season, being in the field in all league games.[14]
During the 2021–22 Lille OSC season, he participated in the 1–0 win against PSG in the Trophée des Champions, with the club winning that trophy for the first time ever.[15] Later, he helped the team to get out of the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League group stage and played against Chelsea in round of 16.[16]
Celta
Chicago Fire
On 21 January 2025, Bamba moved to Major League Soccer side Chicago Fire on a three-year deal.[18][19]
International career
Bamba was born in France and is of Ivorian descent.[20] He is a dual-national, and was able to choose to represent either France or Ivory Coast internationally.[20]
After representing France at various youth levels, he switched his allegiance to the latter in March 2023, as he accepted a call-up to the Ivorian senior national team for two Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches against Comoros.[21]
In December 2023, Bamba was named in the Ivory Coast's squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.[22][23][24] He was in the starting XI for Ivory Coast's 2–0 win over Guinea-Bissau in the tournament's opening match.[25]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 7 March 2026[4]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Saint-Étienne | 2014–15 | Ligue 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |
| 2015–16 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | — | 11 | 1 | |||
| 2017–18 | 34 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 37 | 8 | ||||
| Total | 42 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 9 | ||
| Paris FC (loan) | 2015–16 | Ligue 2 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 0 | ||
| Sint-Truiden (loan) | 2016–17 | Belgian Pro League | 8 | 2 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | 11 | 3 | |||
| Angers (loan) | 2016–17 | Ligue 1 | 16 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 3 | ||
| Lille | 2018–19 | Ligue 1 | 38 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 41 | 14 | ||
| 2019–20 | 26 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6[d] | 0 | — | 37 | 1 | |||
| 2020–21 | 38 | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | 8[c] | 1 | — | 48 | 7 | ||||
| 2021–22 | 31 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 6[d] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 39 | 1 | |||
| 2022–23 | 34 | 6 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 35 | 6 | |||||
| Total | 167 | 27 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 200 | 29 | ||
| Celta | 2023–24 | La Liga | 27 | 3 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | 28 | 5 | |||
| 2024–25 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 14 | 1 | |||||
| Total | 39 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 6 | ||
| Chicago Fire | 2025 | Major League Soccer | 34 | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 3[f] | 1 | 40 | 6 | ||
| 2026 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 36 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 42 | 7 | ||
| Career total | 322 | 49 | 27 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 24 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 381 | 57 | ||
- Includes Coupe de France, Belgian Cup, Copa del Rey, U.S. Open Cup
- Includes Coupe de la Ligue
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Appearance in Trophée des Champions
- Appearances in MLS Cup playoffs
Honours
Lille
Ivory Coast
Individual
