Christian Kofane

Christian Kofane
Kofane with Bayer Leverkusen in 2025
Personal information
Full name Christian Michel Kofane
Date of birth (2006-07-26) 26 July 2006
Place of birth Douala, Cameroon
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position Forward
Team information
Current team
 Bayer Leverkusen
Number 35
Youth career
AS Vatican Sport Étude
AS Nylon
2024–2025 Albacete
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2025 Albacete 20 (8)
2025– Bayer Leverkusen 24 (5)
International career‡
2024– Cameroon U20
2025– Cameroon 4 (2)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21 March 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 9 January 2026

Christian Michel Kofane (born 26 July 2006) is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen and the Cameroon national team.

Club career

Albacete

Born to Cameroonian parents, Kofane moved to France with his parents. Kofane holds dual Cameroonian-French citizenship.[1] Kofane joined Albacete Balompié's youth sides in November 2024, after the club established a partnership with AS Nylon.[2][3] After impressing with the Juvenil side by scoring six goals in six appearances, he was called up to train with the first team by manager Alberto González.[4]

Kofane made his professional debut on 11 January 2025, starting and scoring the opener in a 2–2 Segunda División home draw against Racing de Santander.[5][6][7] He finished the season with eight goals, attracting interest of several European clubs.[8]

Bayer Leverkusen

On 11 July 2025, Albacete announced that Bayer 04 Leverkusen reached an agreement for the transfer of Kofane, paying a sum higher than his €5 million release clause.[9][10] He signed a four-year contract with his new club.[11] A month later, on 15 August, he recorded his first goal and assist in a 4–0 away win over Sonnenhof Großaspach in the DFB-Pokal.[12] Later that year, on 1 October, he netted his first UEFA Champions League goal in a 1–1 draw with PSV Eindhoven.[13] Hence, he became the club's youngest goalscorer in the European competition, aged 19 years and 67 days old.[14] Three days later, he scored his first Bundesliga goal in a 2–0 win over Union Berlin.[15]

International career

In September 2024, Kofane played unofficial friendly matches with the Cameroon national under-20 team. He received another call-up to the side in May 2025.[16]

On December 1, 2025, he was called up for the first time to the Cameroon national team by David Pagou to compete in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.[17]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 21 March 2026[18][19]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Albacete 2024–25[20] Segunda División 20 8 0 0 — 20 8
Bayer Leverkusen 2025–26[21] Bundesliga 24 5 4 1 11[b] 1 39 7
Career total 44 13 4 1 11 1 59 15
  1. ^ Includes DFB-Pokal
  2. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

As of match played 9 January 2026
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Cameroon 2025 2 1
2026 2 1
Total 4 2
As of match played 4 January 2026
Cameroon score listed first, score column indicates score after each Kofane goal.
List of international goals scored by Christian Kofane
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 31 December 2025 Adrar Stadium, Agadir, Morocco  Mozambique 2–1 2–1 2025 Africa Cup of Nations
2 4 January 2026 Al Medina Stadium, Rabat, Morocco  South Africa 2–0 2–1 2025 Africa Cup of Nations

References

  1. ^ Silas, Don (4 September 2024). "'My mother is from France' - Kofane on why he snubbed France". Daily Post. Lagos, Nigeria. Archived from the original on 10 September 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  2. ^ "Acuerdo con L'association sportive de Nylon de Camerún" [Agreement with Association Sportive de Nylon of Cameroon] (in Spanish). Albacete Balompié. 10 December 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  3. ^ "Christian Kofane, el goleador que debuta hoy como titular en el Albacete" [Christian Kofane, the goalscorer who debuts today as a starter at Albacete] (in Spanish). 5 Más el Descuento. 11 January 2025. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  4. ^ "Kofane, la estrella africana que encandila a los técnicos del Albacete Balompié" [Kofane, the African star who dazzles Albacete Balompié's coaches] (in Spanish). 5 Más el Descuento. 9 January 2025. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  5. ^ "¡GOOOOOOOL de Kofane, gooooool del Albacete! ¡El camerunés debuta y hoy ha marcado a los 2 minutos!" [GOAL from Kofane, goal of Albacete! The Cameroonian debuts and today has scored in the 2nd minute!] (in Spanish). 5 Más el Descuento. 11 January 2025. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  6. ^ "Kofane, del Juvenil al primer equipo y gol en dos minutos al ser titular con el Alba" [Kofane, from the Juvenil to the first team and a goal within two minutes by being a starter with Alba] (in Spanish). + que Alba. 11 January 2025. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  7. ^ "Kofane, el nuevo ídolo de la afición del Alba está... en el punto de mira" [Kofane, the new idol of Alba's supporters is... on sight] (in Spanish). Marca. 13 January 2025. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  8. ^ "Kofane, el futbolista que marcará el mercado en el Albacete" [Kofane, the footballer who will stir the market at Albacete] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 29 May 2025. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  9. ^ "Acuerdo para el traspaso de Kofane al Bayer Leverkusen" [Agreement for the transfer of Kofane to Bayer Leverkusen] (in Spanish). Albacete Balompié. 11 July 2025. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  10. ^ "Oficial: el Albacete cierra la venta de Kofane al Bayer Leverkusen" [Official: Albacete complete the transfer of Kofane to Bayer Leverkusen] (in Spanish). Marca. 11 July 2025. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  11. ^ "Bayer 04 verpflichtet Sturmtalent Christian Kofane aus Albacete" [Bayer 04 signs talented striker Christian Kofane from Albacete] (in German). Bayer 04 Leverkusen. 11 July 2025. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  12. ^ "4:0 bei Großaspach – Werkself behält im Pokal-Dauerregen den Durchblick" (in German). Bayer 04 Leverkusen. 15 August 2025.
  13. ^ "1-1 against PSV - Werkself miss out on victory in first UCL home game". Bayer 04 Leverkusen. 1 October 2025.
  14. ^ "Bayer Leverkusen trust in capable Christian Kofane". Bundesliga. 2 October 2025.
  15. ^ "Kofane on target as Leverkusen beat Union for second straight win". Reuters. 4 October 2025.
  16. ^ "Kofane, convocado con la Selección sub20 de Camerún" [Kofane, called up with the Cameroon national under-20 team] (in Spanish). Albacete Balompié. 22 May 2025. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  17. ^ "André Onana et Vincent Aboubakar absents, Christian Kofane et Eric-Junior Dina Ebimbe appelés... La liste du Cameroun pour la CAN 2025". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 1 December 2025.
  18. ^ Christian Kofane at Soccerway. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
  19. ^ Christian Kofane at BDFutbol. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
  20. ^ "Games played by Christian Kofane in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
  21. ^ "Games played by Christian Kofane in 2025/2026". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
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