# Martin Hongla

Martin Hongla Yma II (born 16 March 1998) is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or centre-back for Segunda División club Granada and the Cameroon national team.

## Club career

Born in Yaoundé, Hongla joined Granada CF in 2016, from Blaise Nkufo's Nkufo Sports Academy. He was initially assigned to the reserves in Segunda División B.
Hongla made his senior debut on 21 August 2016, starting in a 1–1 home draw against Atlético Mancha Real. He made his first team – and La Liga – debut on 28 January 2017, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–0 defeat at Villarreal CF.
Ahead of the 2017–18 season, Hongla was definitely promoted to the main squad, now in Segunda División. On 16 January 2018, he was loaned to fellow league team FC Barcelona B, for six months.
On 3 July 2019, after a six-month loan to FC Karpaty Lviv, Hongla joined Royal Antwerp FC in the Belgian First Division A. On 9 July 2021, he joined Italian Serie A club Hellas Verona on loan with a conditional purchase obligation.
On 31 January 2023, Hongla returned to Spain and its top tier, after agreeing to a six-month loan deal with Real Valladolid.
On 12 January 2024, Hongla returned to Granada. He reportedly signed a three-and-a-half-year contract for a transfer fee of €2.5 million.

## International career

Hongla played at the 2015 African U-17 Championship, 2017 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations qualification and the 2019 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations.
He made his debut for Cameroon national team on 16 November 2020 in a Cup of Nations qualifier game against Mozambique, as a starter.
On November 10, 2022, he was selected by Rigobert Song to compete in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

## Career statistics

    As of match played 4 January 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Cup | Cup | Europe | Europe | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Granada B | 2016–17 | Segunda División B | 23 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 23 | 0 |
| Granada B | 2017–18 | Segunda División B | 12 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 12 | 1 |
| Granada B | Total | Total | 35 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 35 | 1 |
| Granada | 2016–17 | La Liga | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 10 | 0 |
| Barcelona B (loan) | 2017–18 | Segunda División | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 0 |
| Karpaty Lviv (loan) | 2018–19 | Ukrainian Premier League | 13 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 17 | 1 |
| Royal Antwerp | 2019–20 | Belgian First Division A | 9 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 0 |
| Royal Antwerp | 2020–21 | Belgian First Division A | 28 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 43 | 3 |
| Royal Antwerp | Total | Total | 37 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 58 | 3 |
| Hellas Verona (loan) | 2021–22 | Serie A | 18 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 20 | 1 |
| Hellas Verona | 2022–23 | Serie A | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 10 | 0 |
| Hellas Verona | 2023–24 | Serie A | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 17 | 0 |
| Hellas Verona | Total | Total | 42 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 47 | 0 |
| Real Valladolid (loan) | 2022–23 | La Liga | 16 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 16 | 0 |
| Granada | 2023–24 | Segunda División | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 13 | 0 |
| Granada | 2024–25 | Segunda División | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 17 | 1 |
| Granada | Total | Total | 29 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 30 | 1 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 188 | 8 | 13 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 219 | 8 |
* ↑ Appearances in Relegation play-offs
* 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Europa League
* ↑ Appearances in Belgian Pro League play-offs

### International

    As of match played 19 November 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Cameroon |
| Cameroon | 2020 | 1 | 0 |
| Cameroon | 2021 | 10 | 0 |
| Cameroon | 2022 | 10 | 0 |
| Cameroon | 2023 | 1 | 0 |
| Cameroon | 2024 | 8 | 1 |
| Total | Total | 30 | 1 |

## Honours

Antwerp
* Belgian Cup: 2019–20
Cameroon
* Africa Cup of Nations third place: 2021