Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is OM’s new goalscorer. After terminating his contract with Chelsea, the Gabonese international (34 years old, 74 caps) signs a free contract for three seasons and signs his return to Ligue 1. Here are six things to know about the next “great striker” from Marseille.
Born in Laval (Mayenne), Aubameyang completed his junior career in France before signing his first professional contract with AC Milan in February 2007. He was spotted by the Rossoneri during the Champions Youth Cup in 2007, a youth tournament played that year in Malaysia. He scored seven goals in six games and flew to Italy. Unfortunately for him, he does not play any meeting with Milan who lends him to France, to Dijon, Lille, Monaco then Saint-Etienne, where he explodes.
The future Marseille striker has traveled a lot during his career. And if he admitted to having almost joined China after Borussia Dortmund (in 2017), the Gabonese has finally always evolved in Europe. He also became in February 2022 the first player of the 21st century to score a hat-trick in Ligue 1 (with Saint-Étienne), in the Bundesliga (Borussia Dortmund), in the Premier League (Arsenal) and in La Liga, thanks to his hat-trick with FC Barcelona in a 4-1 victory against Valencia.
Former Argentina striker Hernan Crespo marked Aubameyang who was an absolute fan of him. He admitted to drawing a lot of inspiration from his game and studying it. More so, he has a tattoo on his left forearm: “Crespo for life”. A tattoo also linked to his mother Margarita Crespo Aubameyang, Spanish and originally from the town of El Barraco, a hundred kilometers west of Madrid.
“Aubam” or “Yaya” chained personal distinctions between Dortmund and Arsenal in particular. If he was voted best Bundesliga player in the 2015/2016 season, he was awarded the title of best African player of the year 2015 ahead of Yaya Touré and André Ayew. Also top scorer in the Bundesliga (2016/2017) and Premier League (2018/2019), he remains to this day the top foreign scorer in the history of Borussia Dortmund.
Coveted by the Blues, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang played a meeting with the France U23 team before his decision to play for Gabon. Although he often shines at the CAN where he finished co-top scorer in 2012 (3 goals), that of 2022 in Cameroon is more complicated. After a positive test for Covid-19 which followed a nightclub outing, the 34-year-old striker remained on the bench before returning home after two games. Subsequently, he announced that he was ending his international career and no longer wanted to return to the selection. But in 2023 the President of Gabon Ali Bongo Odimba convinced him to return.
“La Panthère” has never hidden his smile and his good humor, on and off the pitch. Its original celebrations bear witness to this. In Dortmund but especially with the Greens, Aubameyang often celebrated his goals with a Spiderman mask, and once with that of Batman at Signal Iduna Park. A nod to his son Curtys, a superhero fan. In addition to the dances, one of its signature celebrations is the front flip. What’s next for the Velodrome?
