Christian Bassogog, the Cameroonian international who was just named the MVP of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations after helping his side to the title, has just completed a transfer from Denmark’s Aalborg BK to Henan Jianye in the Chinese Super League for a reported €6 million.
Remarkably, only three years ago Bassogog was a 19-year-old playing for Cameroonian side Rainbow Bamenda. He was spotted by Jason Arnold, the general manager of the Wilmington Hammerheads of the United Soccer League, and he signed his first professional contract with the North Carolina-based team that, at the time, played in the American third division.
A successful trial with Danish club Aalborg BK saw Bassogog play for his third team, on his third different continent, in only two years. It was in Denmark that he first caught the eye of Cameroon boss Hugo Broos.
“If you asked me this question five months ago, ‘You know Bassogog?’ I’d say ‘Who?’” said Broos. “I didn’t know him…I had some friends, old players for me in Denmark, so I phoned them.”
After watching him play, Broos invited him to play with Cameroon in preparation for AFCON 2017. He impressed in a match against Zambia, scored in a friendly against DR Congo and was subsequently named to Cameroon’s 23-man squad for the finals.
His remarkable rise, alongside that of his national team, didn’t stop there. Bassogog started all three group matches, helping Cameroon advance to the knockout stages at the expense of the host nation, Gabon.
He played all 120 minutes of Cameroon’s quarterfinal victory over Senegal, and he scored in Cameroon’s 2-0 semifinal victory over Ghana.
Bassogog fantastic well thought goal followed by great reactions as Cameroon beat Ghana 2-0 pic.twitter.com/2unPgwAMl8
— Collins Okinyo (@bedjosessien) February 3, 2017
He played the entirety of the final against Egypt, and clubs immediately began contacting Aalborg regarding a potential transfer. Now, Bassogog is reportedly joining CSL side Henan Jianye.
This will be Bassogog’s fourth different club in his career and each has been on a different continent (Africa, North America, Europe and Asia). It’s been a remarkable three years for the Cameroonian.
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