Chancel Mbemba

Anderlecht

After playing youth football for several clubs including E.S. La Grace and FC MK Etanchéité in Kinshasa, Mbemba joined Belgian club Anderlecht in 2012. Upon moving, he mainly played with Anderlecht reserve and youth teams, and requested to have a bone scan to dispel rumours that he was older than he actually was. On 21 July 2013, Mbemba was an unused substitute as Anderlecht won the Belgian Super Cup 1–0 against Genk. He made his debut a week later in their opening match of the Belgian Pro League season, a 3–2 home defeat to Lokeren. He scored five goals in 35 games of a league-winning campaign, starting by concluding a 2–0 win at Mons on 18 October, a contribution to becoming the league's Player of the Month. Mbemba played in the 2014 Belgian Super Cup, a 2–1 win over Lokeren. he made 28 appearances during the 2014–15 season as they finished in third spot in the league, and runners-up in the 2014–15 Belgian Cup, losing 1–2 to Club Brugge in the final.

Newcastle United

On 26 July 2015, Premier League side Newcastle United announced the signing of Mbemba. Four days later, he signed a five-year contract with the club. He made his debut on 9 August on the first day of the Premier League season, starting in a 2–2 home draw with Southampton. He scored his only goal for the club on 7 May 2017 against Barnsley in a 3–0 home win, on the same day that Newcastle clinched the EFL Championship title a year after relegation.

Porto

On 23 July 2018,…

Mbemba made his debut for the DR Congo on 17 June 2012, in a 3–0 home win over the Seychelles at the Stade des Martyrs in Kinshasa, in 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualification. He was an unused member of Claude Le Roy's squad for the finals. He was part of the squad that came third at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea, and scored a penalty in the shootout win over the hosts for the bronze medal. On 13 October 2015, Mbemba scored his first international goal, a late long-distance winner in a 2–1 friendly against Gabon in Visé, Belgium. He also went to the Africa Cup of Nations in 2017 and 2019; in the latter in Egypt he scored a late header in a 2–2 draw with Madagascar in the last 16, though his team lost in a shootout. On 13 November 2025, Mbemba earned his 100th international cap, becoming the first Congolese player to reach the milestone, and marked the occasion by scoring a stoppage-time winner in a 1–0 victory over Cameroon during the 2026 World Cup qualification second round. Three days later, he scored the decisive penalty in a 4–3 shootout victory over Nigeria after a 1–1 draw, sending his nation to the inter-confederation play-offs. On May 19, 2026, he was included in the 26-man squad selected by head coach Sébastien Desabre to represent the DR Congo at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Club

As of match played 3 September 2026

International

As of match played 1 July 2026

Scores and results list DR Congo's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mbemba goal.

Mbemba was born and raised in Kinshasa. He is one of nine children. His mother, Antoinette, is a former basketball player who represented the DR Congo women's national basketball team. A 2013 report by CNN found conflicting documents that support four different dates of birth for Mbemba ranging from 1988 to 1994, with the player saying himself that he was born in 1990; an anonymous member of the Congolese Association Football Federation said that his date of birth was changed to 1991 so that he could be eligible for the 2012 Olympics where players must be under 23. Upon signing for Newcastle, he said that he was born in 1994 and that there was forensic proof.