Nathanaël Mbuku
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nathanaël Mbuku Wa Mbuku[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 16 March 2002 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Villeneuve-Saint-Georges, France | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Forward | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team |
Montpellier (on loan from FC Augsburg) | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 7 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Villeneuvois | ||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2011 | Alfortville | ||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | Maccabi Paris | ||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | US Ris-Orangis | ||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2016 | Lusitanos Saint-Maur | ||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Fleury | ||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Reims | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2023 | Reims B | 10 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–2023 | Reims | 80 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | FC Augsburg | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | FC Augsburg II | 4 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024 | → Saint-Étienne (loan) | 18 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024–2025 | Dinamo Zagreb | 16 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2025– | FC Augsburg | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2025– | → Montpellier (loan) | 14 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | France U16 | 9 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | France U17 | 19 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019 | France U18 | 11 | (7) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021 | France U20 | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021 | France U21 | 2 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021 | France Olympic | 3 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024– | DR Congo | 14 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 2 December 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 30 December 2025 | |||||||||||||||||
Nathanaël Mbuku Wa Mbuku (born 16 March 2002) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 2 club Montpellier, on loan from Bundesliga club FC Augsburg. Born in France, he represents the DR Congo national team.
Club career
Reims
On 23 November 2018, Mbuku signed his first professional contract with Stade de Reims for three years.[2] He made his professional debut with Reims in a 2–0 Ligue 1 win over Olympique de Marseille on 10 August 2019.[3]
He scored his first goal in Ligue 1 in a 4–0 win against Montpellier on 25 October 2020, from an "acrobatic kick".[4] His teammate Boulaye Dia also scored from a penalty after Mbuku was fouled. The win was Reims' first in the league in the 2020–21 season.[5]
FC Augsburg
On 30 January 2023, Mbuku signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with FC Augsburg in German Bundesliga.[6]
In January 2024, he joined Ligue 2 club Saint-Étienne on loan for the remainder of the season.[7]
Dinamo Zagreb
On 3 September 2024, Mbuku signed a multi-year contract with Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia.[8] Augsburg reserved an option to buy him back at the end of the 2024–25 season.[9]
Montpellier
In July 2025, Augsburg bought him back and Mbuku moved to Montpellier in France on loan with an option to buy.[10]
International career
With the France U-17 national team, Mbuku took part in the UEFA European Under-17 Championship held in Ireland. He featured in five matches during the tournament. He made an impact by scoring a goal against the Netherlands in the group stage, and later provided an assist in the semi-final against Italy, which ended in a 1–2 defeat.
A few months later, he participated in the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil. During the tournament, he again played five matches. He stood out by scoring a hat-trick in the Round of 16 against Australia. In the quarter-final against Spain, he contributed with a goal and an assist. He scored once more in the semi-final against the host nation, Brazil. France eventually won the bronze medal by defeating the Netherlands in the third-place playoff on 17 November 2019.[11] Individually, Mbuku was awarded the Adidas Silver Boot as the tournament’s second-highest goalscorer.[12]
On 2 July 2021, he was named in the 21-man squad selected by Sylvain Ripoll to represent France at the 2020 Summer Olympics, held in Japan in summer 2021.[13] He made his debut for the France Olympic team on 16 July, coming on as a substitute for Arnaud Nordin in the 69th minute of a friendly match against South Korea. Mbuku scored the winning goal late in the game, securing a 2–1 victory.[14]
In August 2024, he changed his sporting nationality and received his first call-up to the DR Congo national team for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification against Guinea on 6 September and Ethiopia on 9 September.[15]
Personal life
Born in France, Mbuku holds French and Congolese nationalities.[16][17]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 4 October 2025
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Reims B | 2018–19 | CFA 2 | 8 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | CFA 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2022–23 | CFA 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 10 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | ||||
| Reims | 2019–20 | Ligue 1 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| 2020–21 | Ligue 1 | 32 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | 33 | 4 | ||
| 2021–22 | Ligue 1 | 31 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 33 | 2 | ||
| 2022–23 | Ligue 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| Total | 80 | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | 83 | 6 | |||
| FC Augsburg | 2022–23 | Bundesliga | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
| 2023–24 | Bundesliga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| FC Augsburg II | 2022–23 | Regionalliga Bayern | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | Regionalliga Bayern | 3 | 2 | — | — | 3 | 2 | |||
| Total | 4 | 2 | — | — | 4 | 2 | ||||
| Saint-Étienne (loan) | 2023–24 | Ligue 2 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3[b] | 1 | 21 | 4 |
| Dinamo Zagreb | 2024–25 | Croatian Football League | 16 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 20 | 2 |
| Montpellier (loan) | 2025–26 | Ligue 2 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | |
| Career total | 140 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 152 | 14 | ||
- ^ Appearances in the Coupe de la Ligue
- ^ One appearance and one goal in the Ligue 2 promotion play-offs, two appearances in the Ligue 1 relegation/promotion play-offs
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
International
- As of match played 30 December 2025
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| DR Congo | 2024 | 3 | 0 |
| 2025 | 11 | 2 | |
| Total | 14 | 2 | |
- Scores and results list DR Congo's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mbuku goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 September 2025 | Juba Stadium, Juba, South Sudan | South Sudan | 3–0 | 4–1 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 30 December 2025 | Al Medina Stadium, Rabat, Morocco | Botswana | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2025 Africa Cup of Nations |
Honours
France U17
- FIFA U-17 World Cup bronze: 2019[19]
Individual
- FIFA U-17 World Cup Silver Boot: 2019[20]
References
- ^ "FIFA U-17 World Cup Brazil 2019: List of Players: France" (PDF). FIFA. 31 October 2019. p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 December 2019.
- ^ "Nathanaël Mbuku a signé professionnel au Stade de Reims". 23 November 2018.
- ^ "Olympique Marseille vs. Reims - 10 August 2019 - Soccerway". www.soccerway.com.
- ^ Lampin, Julien; Audabram, Alexandre (25 October 2020). "Ligue 1 (J8) | Le Stade de Reims cartonne à Montpellier (4-0) et valide son premier succès en championnat". France Bleu (in French). Retrieved 26 October 2020.
- ^ "Reims stun Montpellier, Briand scores 100th goal". Ligue 1. 25 October 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
- ^ "FCA sign Nathanaël Mbuku from Stade de Reims". FC Augsburg. 30 January 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
- ^ "Nathanaël Mbuku s'engage avec les Verts" [Nathanaël Mbuku joins the Greens]. www.asse.fr (in French). 21 January 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
- ^ "Nathanaël Mbuku novi igrač Dinama" [Nathanaël Mbuku is a new Dinamo player] (in Croatian). Dinamo Zagreb. 3 September 2024. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
- ^ "Nathanaël Mbuku moves to Dinamo Zagreb". FC Augsburg. 3 September 2024. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
- ^ "Nathanaël Mbuku rejoint le MHSC" [Nathanaël Mbuku joins the MHSC] (in French). Montpellier HSC. 8 July 2025. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
- ^ FIFA.com. "Coupe du Monde U-17 de la FIFA 2019 - Infos - La France se console avec le bronze (1-3) - FIFA.com". www.fifa.com (in French). Retrieved 16 February 2020.
- ^ FIFA.com. "Coupe du Monde U-17 de la FIFA 2019 - Infos - Récompenses et consolations en or - FIFA.com". www.fifa.com (in French). Retrieved 17 February 2020.
- ^ Dahbia Hattabi (2 July 2021). "Jeux Olympiques : la liste finale de la France". footmercato.net.
- ^ Richard Loyant (16 July 2021). "Beau succès sur la Corée du Sud (2-1)". fff.fr.
- ^ "12 players called up for international duty". fcaugsburg.de. FC Augsburg. 2 September 2024. Archived from the original on 4 September 2024. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
- ^ "Nathanaël MBUKU". unfp.org (in French). Retrieved 9 January 2024.
- ^ "VOILA NIGHT - FOOT-FRANCE U17: DÉCOUVREZ 06 INTERNATIONAUX FRANÇAIS D'ORIGINE CONGOLAISE".
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
NFTwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "FIFA U-17 World Cup Brazil 2019 - France". www.fifa.com. Archived from the original on 10 July 2019.
- ^ "FIFA U-17 World Cup 2019 - News - Brazilians headline list of award winners". www.fifa.com.
External links
- Nathanaël Mbuku at Soccerway
- Stade de Reims Profile
- Nathanaël Mbuku at the French Football Federation (in French)
- Nathanaël Mbuku at the French Football Federation (archived) (in French)