Giannelli Imbula’s biography, net worth, fact, career, awards and life story

Giannelli Imbula Wanga (pronounced: [dʒanɛli imbula]; born Gilbert Imbula, 12 September 1992) is a Belgian-born French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Stoke City.
Imbula began his career with French club Guingamp where he progressed from the youth teams to make his professional debut in October 2009. He helped Guingamp to promotion from the Championnat National in 2010–11. He established himself as a key member of the Guingamp team in Ligue 2 and one of the stand out players in the division which saw him win the Ligue 2 Player of the Year Award. This prompted Ligue 1 side Marseille to sign Imbula for a fee of €7 million. He spent two seasons at the Stade Vélodrome before joining Portuguese side Porto in the summer of 2015 for €20 million. After seven months at Porto, Imbula joined English Premier League club Stoke City for a club record £18.3 million.

Club career

Guingamp

Imbula was born in Vilvoorde, Belgium, to Congolese parents, who moved to Paris when he was young. Growing up he played youth team football with US Argenteuil, Racing Club, Paris Saint-Germain before moving to Guingamp when he was 15.

Imbula progressed through the youth team at the Stade du Roudourou and made his professional debut in Ligue 2 on 16 October 2009 in a game against Dijon, becoming the youngest player in Ligue 2 history at 17 years, 1 month and 4 days of age. He played 33 times in 2010–11, scoring twice helping Guingamp gain an instant promotion back to Ligue 2. He made 30 appearances in 2011–12 as the side finished seventh which was followed by promotion to Ligue 1 in 2012–13, with Imbula making 36 appearances, scoring two goals and he was named Ligue 2 Player of the Year.

Marseille

In July 2013, Imbula joined Marseille for a fee of €7 million, including bonuses. He played 37 times for Marsille in 2013–14 as the team and Imbula failed to make a significant impact, finishing outside of the European places in sixth spot. However, under the management of Marcelo Bielsa in 2014–15, Imbula formed an effective understanding with André Ayew, André-Pierre Gignac and Dimitri Payet where they finished in fourth place in the league table and were the second highest goalscorers with 76 goals.

Porto

On 1 July 2015, Imbula signed a five-year contract with Portuguese side Porto for a fee of €20 million. He struggled, however, to settle in Portugal and reports emerged that Porto would be willing to let him leave in the 2016 January transfer window.

Stoke City

On 1 February 2016, Imbula joined English Premier League club Stoke City on a five-and-a-half year contract for a club record £18.3 million. He made his Stoke debut on 6 February 2016 in a 3–0 defeat against Everton. Imbula scored his first goal for Stoke on 13 February in a 3–1 win over Bournemouth. He made a good start to his Stoke career and earned the praise of team mate Geoff Cameron. He scored in a 2–1 victory against West Ham United on the final day of the 2015–16 season, helping Stoke to a ninth-place finish.

Stoke and Imbula made a poor start to the 2016–17 campaign and he was dropped from the side by manager Mark Hughes.

International career

Born to Congolese parents, Imbula was born in Belgium but raised in France, making him eligible for any of these three countries. In 2013, he received a call up from France U21 to compete in the Toulon Tournament. In October 2015, however, Imbula publicly expressed his desire to play for the Belgium national team, for which reason he has required authorization to FIFA to do so.

Style of play

Imbula plays as a defensive midfielder and has been described by Mark Hughes as being able to play in centre midfield.—”He’s a defensive midfielder and he’s got a lot of attributes in terms of understanding that role, but he can play in a three as well. I like that flexibility in players because it gives me more options. He’s a good young player with good power, good ability on the ball, and a good range of passing.”

Personal life

Imbula married his fiancee, Linda, in the summer of 2016. Imbula was caught speeding in Stockport in March 2016.

Career statistics

As of match played 21 January 2017

Honours

Individual

• Best player of Ligue 2: 2013.