Jonathan Mensah

**Jonathan Mensah** (born 13 July 1990), commonly known simply as **Jonathan**, is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a defender. He previously played for Ashanti Gold, Free State Stars, Granada, Evian, Anzhi Makhachkala, Columbus Crew, San Jose Earthquakes, and New England Revolution. Jonathan has represented the Ghana national team at two World Cups. To avoid confusion with the similarly named but unrelated John Mensah, he is typically known as and plays with the name "Jonathan" on his shirt. A rugged defender, known for his fierce tackling, man-marking, physical attributes and passing. Regarded as one of the best Ghanaian defenders in African football. 

## Club career
Mensah began his career at Ashanti Gold. In 2008, he moved to the South African club Free State Stars. In July 2009, it was reported that Mensah might move to the Greek club Panathinaikos, but later Mensah decided to stay with the South African club. In January 2010, after moving to the Italian club Udinese, he was sent on loan to the Spanish club Granada. On 8 July 2011 he moved to Evian.

On 24 February 2016, he signed a 2.5-year contract with Anji.

On January 3, 2017, MLS club Columbus Crew announced the signing of Mensah as a designated player. He made his debut in Major League USA on March 4, 2017 in the opening match of the season against the Chicago Fire. On August 26, 2017, in a match against Dallas, he scored his first MLS goal. In January 2018, Crew removed Mensah's designee status to free up a slot outside the salary cap for Milton Valenzuela. Before the start of the 2020 season, Mensah was named team captain. On 22 October 2020, Mensah extended his contract with Crew for several years. At the end of the 2020 season, he was named to the MLS All-Star Team.

On February 10, 2023, Jonathan was purchased by the San Jose Earthquakes for $500,000 in general distribution funds - 200,000 guaranteed and 300,000 conditional, 150,000 per year if the player is with the club in the 2024 and 2025 seasons. He made his debut for the Quakes on February 25 in the opening match of the 2023 season against Atlanta United. At the end of the 2023 season, Mensah's contract with the San Jose Earthquakes expired.

On January 4, 2024, Mensah joined the New England Revolution as a free agent, signing a one-year contract for the 2024 season, with an option to extend for the 2025 season. He made his debut for the Revolution on 24 February in the opening match of the season against D.C. United.

## International career
Jonathan was called up for the first time to the Ghana senior team; he made his debut for the Black Stars against Uganda on 31 May 2009. Since 2010, he has been playing for the Ghana national team, took part in the World Cup in South Africa. Jonathan established himself as a central defensive partner for John Mensah.

Jonathan established himself as a player of the main squad after the World Cup. On 8 February 2011, he scored his first goal for Ghana in a friendly match against Togo. He was included in the squad for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, the last tournament in the even-numbered years before it was postponed to avoid conflicts with the World Cup. Jonathan played 2 matches in the group stage, but lost his place in the starting lineup at the playoff stage. A year later, he was again included in the squad for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, along with his teammate Mohammed Rabiu. However, Jonathan played only once in the entire tournament, coming on as a half-time substitute for third place in place of Boye.

On 12 May 2014, Jonathan was included in Ghana's 30-man squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. On 2 June, he was included in the final line-up. Mensah started every match in the tournament, although Ghana failed to progress from the group and ended the tournament with one draw and two defeats.

He was included in the squad for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

## Personal life
Jonathan is known to be a devout Christian who reads Psalms before every game. He is friends with fellow Christian footballers Christian Atsu and Odion Ighalo.

## Honours
**Granada**
* Segunda División B: 2009–10
* La Liga play-offs: 2011

**Columbus Crew**
* MLS Cup: 2020
* Campeones Cup: 2021
**Ghana U20**
* FIFA U-20 World Cup: 2009
* African Youth Championship: 2009

**Individual**
* Columbus Crew SC Humanitarian of the Year: 2017
* Columbus Crew SC Defender of the Year: 2018, 2019, 2020
* MLS Best XI: 2020

## References 
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