Wakaso Mubarak

Mubarak Wakaso (born 25 July 1990) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for the Ghana national team. Known for his finishing, playmaking skills, and abilities to dribble past opponents especially defenders. He is undoubtedly regarded as one of the best Ghanaian players of all time.

Club career
Revealed in the youth categories of SC Adelaide, Wakaso turned professional in 2007, at Ashanti Gold, scoring 25 games in 53 matches. In 2008, he went to Spain to defend Elche, but had to wait 2 months to make his debut. After 158 matches and 13 goals, he was released by the Franjiverdes in January 2011 and signed for Villarreal in February of the same year, participating in five games for the B team. In July 2012, he was signed by Espanyol for 4 seasons. However, he stayed only one year in the Catalan team, where he played 26 times and scored 13 goals. In 2013, Wakaso was sold to Rubin Kazan of Russia. With the shirt of the Tatarstan team, the midfielder entered the field 20 times and scored 12 goals. In 2014, he was loaned to Celtic, making 5 appearances. The following season, he returned to Spanish football, this time to defend Las Palmas (also on loan), playing in 20 official games and scoring 10 goals. In 2016, Wakaso signed a three-year contract with Panathinaikos, staying only one season and being loaned out for the third time in his career, this time to Granada, where he made 11 appearances and scored one goal. He also played for Alavés, Jiangsu Suning, Shenzhen FC (who signed him in April 2021 after Jiangsu was dissolved due to financial problems) and Eupen (on loan).

International career
Wakaso, who represented Ghana's U-17 team at the 2005 World Cup (2 caps), made his debut for the Black Stars first team in October 2012 against Malawi and scored his first goal in November of the same year in a friendly against Cape Verde.

Called up for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, Wakaso drew attention for his regularity: he scored goals in the four matches he played and, although he did not return to the field, he was the top scorer in the competition (tied with Nigerian Emmanuel Emenike). He also participated in the 2015 (6 games and one goal), 2017 (5 games and one assist), 2019 (4 games) and 2021 (did not enter the field), in addition to the 2014 World Cup, having played in 2 matches.

Career statistics
International

GhanaYearAppsGoals201221201313620141012015143201661201760201810201980202010202161202230Total7013

 Ghana score listed first, score column indicates score after each Wakaso goal.

+ List of international goals scored by Mubarak Wakaso No.  Date  Venue  Opponent  Score  Result  Competition1  14 November 2012  Estádio Universitário, Lisbon, Portugal   1–0  1–0 Friendly2  13 January 2013  Sheikh Zayed, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates   2–2  4–23  24 January 2013  Nelson Mandela Bay, Port Elizabeth, South Africa   1–0  1–0  2013 Africa Cup of Nations4 2 February 2013  Nelson Mandela Bay, Port Elizabeth, South Africa  1–0  2–0 2013 Africa Cup of Nations5 2–0  2–06  6 February 2013  Mbombela, Nelspruit, South Africa   1–0  1–17  24 March 2013  Baba Yara, Kumasi, Ghana   2–0  4–0  2014 FIFA World Cup qualification8  19 November 2014  Tamale Stadium, Tamale, Ghana   2–0  3–1  2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification9  5 February 2015  Estadio de Malabo, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea   2–0  3–0  2015 Africa Cup of Nations10  5 September 2015  Amahoro, Kigali, Rwanda   1–0  3–0  2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification11  17 November 2015  Baba Yara, Kumasi, Ghana   1–0  2–0  2018 FIFA World Cup qualification12  11 October 2016  Moses Mabhida, Durban, South Africa   1–0  1–1  Friendly13  3 September 2021  Cape Coast Sports Stadium, Cape Coast, Ghana   1–0  1–0  2022 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours
Celtic
Scottish Premiership: 2014–15
Scottish League Cup: 2014–15

Jiangsu Suning
Chinese Super League: 2020

Ghana
Africa Cup of Nations runner-up: 2015

Individual
Africa Cup of Nations top scorer: 2013 (4 goals)
Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament: 2017

References

Other websites

 (archived)

Category:1990 births
Category:Living people
Category:Ghanaian footballers
Category:Association football midfielders
Category:2014 FIFA World Cup players
Category:2019 Africa Cup of Nations players
Category:Ghanaian Muslims