| Intro | Ghanaian footballer | ||||
| Is |
Athlete Football player Association football player |
||||
| From | Ghana | ||||
| Type | Sports | ||||
| Gender | male | ||||
| Birth | 25 July 1990, Tamale, Tamale Metropolitan District, Northern Region, Ghana | ||||
| Age: | 30 years | ||||
| Star sign | Leo | ||||
| Stats |
|
Mubarak Wakaso (Arabic: مبارك واكاسو; born 25 July 1990) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays for Granada CF on loan from Greek club Panathinaikos F.C. as a winger.
Club career
Early years / Spain
Born in Tamale, Northern Region, Wakaso began his senior career in Ashanti Gold SC. In 2008, he moved abroad and signed with Elche CF in Spain on a five-year contract, but only joined the club nearly two months later however due to international duty.
In late January 2011, after several bouts of indiscipline and internal codes violations, Wakaso was released by the Valencian. Shortly after he joined another side in the region and Segunda División, Villarreal CF’s B-team.
On 27 February 2011, Wakaso made his La Liga debut, coming on as a substitute for José Catalá in the last minutes of a 2–2 away draw against Racing de Santander. He only played six games in his first full season, and the Yellow Submarine was also relegated after twelve years in the top flight.
Wakaso signed for RCD Espanyol on 11 July 2012, penning a four-year contract. He started in 23 of his league appearances for the Catalans in his first and only season.
Rubin Kazan
In the last days of the 2013 summer transfer window, Wakaso moved to the Russian Premier League with FC Rubin Kazan. On 28 August 2014 he joined Celtic, on a season-long loan.
Wakaso scored on his competitive debut for Celtic, netting the first in a 2–2 away draw against FC Red Bull Salzburg for the UEFA Europa League group stage. On 30 August 2015, after appearing rarely, he was loaned to UD Las Palmas for one year.
Panathinaikos
On 10 July 2016, Wakaso signed a three-year contract with Superleague Greece club Panathinaikos F.C. for an undisclosed fee. On 15 September, in the last minute of a Europa League group phase home fixture against AFC Ajax, he was sent off – as teammate Ivan Ivanov midway through the second half of the eventual 1–2 home loss– and UEFA subsequently suspended him a further two games after his initial ban was over.
On 1 February 2017, Wakaso was loaned to another Spanish top flight side, Granada CF. He scored his first club for them on 1 March, helping to a 2–1 home win over Deportivo Alavés.
International career
Wakaso represented Ghana at the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Peru, playing two matches in an eventual group stage exit (three draws). He made his full international debut on 13 October 2012, in a 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Malawi.
Wakaso scored his first goal for Ghana in a friendly with Cape Verde on 14 November 2012. He was picked for the squad that appeared at the 2013 CAN in South Africa, notably netting the game’s only goal in a group stage contest against Mali, through a penalty kick, then scoring both in the 2–0 quarterfinal win against Cape Verde.
Wakaso was selected by manager James Kwesi Appiah for his 2014 FIFA World Cup squad. He made his debut in the tournament on 21 June, playing 22 minutes in a 2–2 draw against Germany.
On 5 February 2015, Wakaso netted the second goal in Ghana’s 3–0 win over Equatorial Guinea in the semi-final of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations to take them to the final. In the decisive match, against the Ivory Coast, he scored his penalty shootout attempt in an eventual 8–9 loss.
International goals
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 November 2012 | Estádio Universitário, Lisbon, Portugal | Cape Verde | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 13 January 2013 | Sheikh Zayed, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | Tunisia | 2–2 | 4–2 | Friendly |
| 3 | 24 January 2013 | Nelson Mandela Bay, Port Elizabeth, South Africa | Mali | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2013 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 4 | 2 February 2013 | Nelson Mandela Bay, Port Elizabeth, South Africa | Cape Verde | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2013 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 5 | 2–0 | 2–0 | ||||
| 6 | 6 February 2013 | Mbombela, Nelspruit, South Africa | Burkina Faso | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2013 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 7 | 24 March 2013 | Baba Yara, Kumasi, Ghana | Sudan | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2014 World Cup qualification |
| 8 | 19 November 2014 | Tamale Stadium, Tamale, Ghana | Togo | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 9 | 5 February 2015 | Nuevo Estadio, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea | Equatorial Guinea | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2015 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 10 | 5 September 2015 | Amahoro, Kigali, Rwanda | Rwanda | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 11 | 17 November 2015 | Baba Yara, Kumasi, Ghana | Comoros | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2018 World Cup qualification |
| 12 | 11 October 2016 | Moses Mabhida, Durban, South Africa | South Africa | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
Personal life
Wakaso’s younger brother, Alhassan, is also a footballer and a midfielder. He spent most of his career in Portugal.
Wakaso is a practicing Muslim.
Statistics
Club
| Club | Season | Division | League | Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Elche | ||||||||||||
| 2008–09 | Segunda División | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 16 | 0 | |
| 2009–10 | Segunda División | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 26 | 0 | |
| 2010–11 | Segunda División | 16 | 1 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 18 | 2 | |
| Total | 58 | 1 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 60 | 2 | ||
| Villarreal B | ||||||||||||
| 2010–11 | Segunda División | 5 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 5 | 1 | |
| Total | 5 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 5 | 1 | ||
| Villarreal | ||||||||||||
| 2010–11 | La Liga | 11 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 4 | 0 | 15 | 0 | |
| 2011–12 | La Liga | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 4 | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| Total | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 8 | 0 | 25 | 0 | ||
| Espanyol | ||||||||||||
| 2012–13 | La Liga | 26 | 3 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 27 | 3 | |
| Total | 26 | 3 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 27 | 3 | ||
| Rubin Kazan | ||||||||||||
| 2013–14 | Russian Premier League | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 4 | 0 | 18 | 2 | |
| 2014–15 | Russian Premier League | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 4 | 0 | 20 | 2 | ||
| Celtic | ||||||||||||
| 2014–15 | Scottish Premiership | 5 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 1 | |
| Total | 5 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 1 | ||
| Las Palmas | ||||||||||||
| 2015–16 | La Liga | 20 | 1 | 4 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 24 | 2 | |
| Total | 20 | 1 | 4 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 24 | 2 | ||
| Panathinaikos | ||||||||||||
| 2016–17 | Superleague Greece | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 7 | 0 | 16 | 1 | |
| Granada | ||||||||||||
| 2016–17 | La Liga | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 11 | 1 | |
| Total | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 11 | 1 | ||
| Career Total | 166 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 1 | 199 | 13 | ||
Honours
Country
- Africa Cup of Nations: Runner-up 2015