Mike Cestor
Congolese footballer (born 1992)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mike Botuli Cestor (born 30 April 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Liga I club Metaloglobus București.[1] Born in France, Cestor has earned caps for DR Congo at under-20 level.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mike Botuli Cestor | ||
| Date of birth | 30 April 1992 | ||
| Place of birth | Bagneux, France | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Metaloglobus București | ||
| Number | 75 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2008–2009 | Pisa | ||
| 2009–2010 | Leyton Orient | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010–2012 | Leyton Orient | 3 | (0) |
| 2011 | → Boreham Wood (loan) | 9 | (1) |
| 2011 | → Woking (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2012 | → Woking (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 2012–2015 | Woking | 88 | (2) |
| 2016–2018 | Épinal | 54 | (7) |
| 2018–2019 | Astra Giurgiu | 28 | (1) |
| 2019–2022 | CFR Cluj | 29 | (1) |
| 2022–2023 | Argeș Pitești | 16 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | Radomiak Radom | 28 | (0) |
| 2024–2025 | Gloria Buzău | 19 | (1) |
| 2025 | Politehnica Iași | 9 | (0) |
| 2026– | Metaloglobus București | 2 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2013 | DR Congo U20 | 4 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23 February 2026 | |||
Club career
Early career
Cestor was born in Bagneux, Hauts-de-Seine, Paris. Before trialling for Leyton Orient, Cestor had been on the books as a youth player for Italian side Pisa.[2]
Leyton Orient
Cestor joined Orient's youth squad early in the 2009–10 season and also featured in the reserve team before being called up to the first-team squad in December 2009, although he made no first-team appearances.[3] He signed a new two-year contract on 9 June 2010,[4] and he made his professional debut in a League Cup match for Orient, as they won 2–1 at Swindon Town on 10 August 2010.[5] His league debut came three days later in the 3–1 defeat to Charlton Athletic.[6]
On 11 January 2011, Cestor went on a month's loan to Boreham Wood,[7] making his debut on 15 January in the 2–0 win over Chelmsford City.[8]
Woking
On 19 August 2011, he went on a month's loan to Woking,[9] and made his debut the following day in the 0–0 draw at home to his old club Boreham Wood.[10] He made seven appearances for Woking before returning to Orient and coming on as a substitute in their 3–2 League Cup defeat at Blackburn Rovers on 20 September.[11] He returned to Woking on 12 January 2012 for another month's loan spell,[12] which was later extended, and after a brief return to Orient, he began yet another loan period at Woking.[13] On 15 May 2012, he was one of three players released by Orient manager Russell Slade.[14] On 19 July 2012, Cestor signed permanently for Woking, who were newly promoted to the Football Conference.[15]
On 20 December 2014, in a 2–1 defeat to Southport, Cestor suffered a long term knee injury, therefore ruling him out for the remainder of the 2014–15 campaign.[16]
Ahead of the following campaign, Cestor was released at the end of his contract, due to his slow progress with his injury.
Épinal
On 2 July 2016, Cestor joined French side SAS Épinal after a year without a club.[17]
International career
Prior to the 2013 Toulon Tournament, Cestor received a call-up for the DR Congo U20 team. Cestor went on to start all four of DR Congo's games in the Toulon campaign, initially making his debut in a 1–0 defeat against the France U20 side on 30 May 2013.[18]
Career statistics
- As of match played 23 February 2026[19]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Leyton Orient | 2010–11 | League One | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3[b] | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2011–12 | League One | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[c] | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Total | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |||
| Boreham Wood (loan) | 2010–11 | Conference South | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | |
| Woking (loan) | 2011–12 | Conference South | 16 | 0 | — | — | — | 16 | 0 | |||
| Woking | 2012–13 | Conference Premier | 37 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[d] | 0 | 39 | 1 | |
| 2013–14 | Conference Premier | 30 | 0 | — | — | 2[d] | 0 | 32 | 0 | |||
| 2014–15 | Conference Premier | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[d] | 0 | 23 | 1 | ||
| Total | 88 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | 94 | 2 | |||
| Épinal | 2016–17 | Championnat National | 26 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 27 | 2 | ||
| 2017–18 | Championnat National 2 Group B | 28 | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 6 | |||
| Total | 54 | 7 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 57 | 8 | ||||
| Astra Giurgiu | 2018–19 | Liga I | 26 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 1 | ||
| CFR Cluj | 2019–20 | Liga I | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5[e] | 0 | — | 17 | 1 | |
| 2020–21 | Liga I | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[f] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2021–22 | Liga I | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9[g] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 1 | |
| Total | 29 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 3 | ||
| Argeș Pitești | 2022–23 | Liga I | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 0 | ||
| Radomiak Radom | 2022–23 | Ekstraklasa | 16 | 0 | — | — | — | 16 | 0 | |||
| 2023–24 | Ekstraklasa | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | |||
| Total | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 0 | ||||
| Gloria Buzău | 2024–25 | Liga I | 19 | 1 | — | — | — | 19 | 1 | |||
| Politehnica Iași | 2025–26 | Liga II | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | 9 | 0 | |||
| Metaloglobus București | 2025–26 | Liga I | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 299 | 13 | 16 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 338 | 16 | ||
- Includes Coupe de France, Cupa României, Polish Cup
- One appearance in Football League Trophy, two appearances in EFL Cup
- One appearance in UEFA Champions League, four appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearance in UEFA Champions League
- Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Europa League, three appearances in UEFA Conference League