Raphaël Messi Bouli
Cameroonian footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Raphaël Éric Messi Bouli (born 23 April 1992) is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as forward for Indian Super League club Jamshedpur.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Raphaël Éric Messi Bouli[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 23 April 1992 | ||
| Place of birth | Yaoundé, Cameroon | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Jamshedpur | ||
| Number | 54 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2013 | FAP Yaoundé | ||
| 2014–2015 | Canon Yaoundé | ||
| 2016–2018 | APEJES | 24 | (14) |
| 2018–2019 | Yanbian Funde | 14 | (3) |
| 2019 | Foolad | 12 | (1) |
| 2019–2020 | Kerala Blasters | 17 | (8) |
| 2020 | Heilongjiang Lava Spring | 9 | (0) |
| 2021 | Liaoning Shenyang Urban | 0 | (0) |
| 2021 | → Nanjing City (loan) | 32 | (15) |
| 2022–2023 | Nanjing City | 59 | (27) |
| 2024 | Shijiazhuang Gongfu | 27 | (14) |
| 2025 | East Bengal | 5 | (2) |
| 2025– | Jamshedpur | 10 | (3) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2013–2018 | Cameroon | 6 | (1) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16:45, 16 March 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 24 January 2018 | |||
He made six appearances for the Cameroon national team.
Club career
Bouli started his career in Cameroon with FAP Yaoundé in 2013.[2] A year later, he signed for Canon Yaoundé where he remained for the 2014 and 2015 Elite One seasons.[2] 2016 saw Bouli join APEJES, with whom he won the 2016 Cameroonian Cup with.[2] In 2017, Bouli scored fourteen goals in twenty-four league fixtures.[3] On 1 March 2018, Bouli joined China League One side Yanbian Funde.[3][4][5] He made his debut against Nei Mongol Zhongyou on 1 April, prior to netting in back-to-back matches in May versus Qingdao Huanghai and Zhejiang Greentown respectively.[1] Bouli moved to Iran to play for Foolad of the Persian Gulf Pro League in 2019.[6]
Bouli departed Foolad in June 2019, after scoring one goal (against Esteghlal Khuzestan) in twelve games for the Iranian club.[1][7] In the months following his departure, Bouli threatened to complain to FIFA, along with then-manager Afshin Ghotbi and former teammate Takafumi Akahoshi, regarding unpaid wages.[8][9]
On 24 August, Bouli completed a move to India with Super League team Kerala Blasters.[10][11] He scored eight goals for them, which included a brace over Jamshedpur on 13 December.[12]
September 2020 saw Bouli return to Chinese football as he agreed terms with League One team Heilongjiang Lava Spring.[12][13]
In April 2021, Bouli joined Nanjing City on loan, he completed a permanent transfer to the club in April 2022.[14][15] As of the 2023 season, he scored 42 goals and provided 4 assists in 93 appearances for the club.[16]
On 29 February 2024, Bouli joined fellow China League One club Shijiazhuang Gongfu.[17]
After a six-month stint back in the ISL with East Bengal, Bouli joined fellow ISL club Jamshedpur on 4 October 2025, signing a contract for the 25-26 season.[18]
International career
Bouli made his international debut on 10 August 2013, playing in a 2014 African Nations Championship qualifier with Gabon.[2] Years later, he scored his first goal in 2018 African Nations Championship qualifying in a game with São Tomé and Príncipe.[2] In November 2017, Bouli was selected by the national team for a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Zambia.[12] However, he failed to feature after remaining on the bench for a 2–2 draw.[12] Months later, Bouli was called up to the squad for the 2018 African Nations Championship in Morocco.[12] He featured in matches against Congo, Angola and Burkina Faso as Cameroon were eliminated at the group stages.[12]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 20 April 2025[12]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| APEJES | 2017 | Elite One | 24 | 14 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 14 | ||
| Yanbian Funde | 2018 | China League One | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 3 | ||
| Foolad | 2018–19 | Persian Gulf Pro League | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 1 | ||
| Kerala Blasters | 2019–20 | Indian Super League | 17 | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 8 | ||
| Heilongjiang Lava Spring | 2020 | China League One | 7 | 0 | — | — | 2[a] | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||
| Nanjing City (loan) | 2021 | China League One | 32 | 15 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 15 | ||
| Nanjing City | 2022 | China League One | 31 | 17 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 17 | ||
| 2023 | China League One | 28 | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 11 | |||
| Total | 91 | 43 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 93 | 43 | ||
| Shijiazhuang Gongfu | 2024 | China League One | 27 | 14 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 14 | ||
| East Bengal | 2024–25 | Indian Super League | 5 | 2 | 1[b] | 0 | 2[c] | 1 | — | 8 | 3 | |
| Career total | 197 | 83 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 205 | 74 | ||
- Appearances in China League One relegation play-offs
- Appearance(s) in AFC Challenge League
International
- As of 7 October 2020.[12]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cameroon | 2013 | 1 | 0 |
| 2017 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2018 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 6 | 1 | |
- As of 14 July 2019. Cameroon score listed first.[2]
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 August 2017 | Limbe Stadium, Limbe, Cameroon | 1 |  São Tomé and Príncipe | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2018 African Nations Championship qualification |
Honours
APEJES[2]