Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: Difference between revisions

Gabonese footballer (born 1989)

Pierre-Emerick Emiliano François Aubameyang ONM (born 18 June 1989) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Ligue 1 club Marseille and serves as captain for the Gabon national team. Having been recognised as one of the best strikers in his prime, he was renowned for his pace, finishing, and off-ball movement.^[6]

The son of Pierre Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick began his senior club career playing for Italian club AC Milan, but never appeared for the club as he went on a series of loan spells in France. He moved to Saint-Étienne in 2011. There, he won a Coupe de la Ligue title and joined Borussia Dortmund in 2013. In Germany, Aubameyang finished as the league’s top goalscorer in the 2016–17 season and won a DFB-Pokal. He also ranks as the club’s seventh highest all-time goalscorer.^[7] In 2018, Aubameyang was the subject of a then-club record association football transfer when he signed for Arsenal in a transfer worth £56 million (€60 million), making him the most expensive Gabonese player of all time.^[8] With Arsenal, he won an FA Cup and finished as the league’s joint-top goalscorer in the 2018–19 season.^[9] After departing Arsenal in 2022, Aubameyang had spells with Barcelona and Chelsea before signing for Marseille in 2023.

Born in France, Aubameyang chose to represent Gabon at international level, eventually becoming the nation’s all-time top goalscorer. He made his senior debut for Gabon in 2009 aged 19, and appeared in four Africa Cup of Nations tournaments and the 2012 Summer Olympics. In 2016, Aubameyang was named African Footballer of the Year; the first Gabonese and second European-born player to win the award.^[10]

Club career[edit]

AC Milan[edit]

Aubameyang joined AC Milan‘s youth academy in January 2007. In August, he was part of the squad that finished fourth in the inaugural Champions Youth Cup held in Malaysia, where he made a name for himself and attracted the attention of scouts internationally. He scored against every opponent Milan played, finishing with seven goals in six matches.^[12]

2008–09: Loan to Dijon[edit]

For the 2008–09 season, Aubameyang was loaned out to Dijon of Ligue 2 in France to gain first team experience.^[13] His performances there led him to appear in World Soccer’s Talent Scout section in Summer 2009.^[14] He finished with a total of ten goals and two assists in all competitions, including two goals in a Coupe de France tie against Selongey.^[15]

2009–10: Loan to Lille[edit]

On 24 June 2009, it was announced Ligue 1 club Lille had decided to sign Aubameyang on loan.^[16] Relative to his previous season, however, Aubameyang did not perform as well, scoring just two goals in 14 appearances, four as a starter.^{[citation needed]}

2010–11: Loans to Monaco and Saint-Étienne[edit]

For the 2010–11 season, Aubameyang was loaned for the season to Monaco. On 21 August 2010, he scored his first goal for Monaco in an away match against Lens, then scored again on 29 August at home to Auxerre, where Monaco won 2–0.^[17] In January 2011, after six months with the club, Aubameyang was loaned to Saint-Étienne until the end of the 2010–11 season, finishing the season with four goals and three assists. In July 2011, the loan was extended for the entire 2011–12 season.^{[citation needed]}

Saint-Étienne[edit]

On 22 December 2011, Aubameyang signed with Saint-Étienne on a permanent deal. He was quickly added to the starting line up and was given the number 7 jersey. In February 2012, he scored his first hat-trick against Lorient. He became an integral part of the squad, scoring half of the team’s away goals during the season, and went on to be Ligue 1’s 4th top scorer having scored 16 goals behind Montpellier’s Giroud with 21, PSG’s Nenê with 21 too and Lille’s Eden Hazard with 20.

On 20 April 2013, Aubameyang was in the starting line-up for Saint-Étienne in the 2013 Coupe de la Ligue Final. Les Verts won the match 1–0 with a goal from Brandão to give Aubameyang his first major trophy as a professional footballer. He finished the season with 18 goals and seven assists in all competitions.^{[citation needed]}

In the 2012–13 season, Aubameyang ended second in the competition’s top-goalscorers list, scoring 19 goals and finishing behind only Zlatan Ibrahimović. From his 37 appearances, he also provided eight assists. The season was widely regarded as his breakout year—he appeared in the Ligue 1 team of the season and he won the Ligue 1 African Player of the Year award.^[18]

Borussia Dortmund[edit]

2013–15: DFL-Supercups[edit]