Sulley Muntari

Early career

Muntari's abilities first came to light in youth tournaments, while he was playing for Liberty Professionals youth team. He became a regular member of Ghana under-20 team at the age of 16 as they finished runners-up at the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship in Argentina, losing out to the hosts in the final. Despite impressing during a trial with Manchester United after the tournament, he ended up joining Italian club Udinese.

Udinese

He joined Udinese in 2001, where his first season was spent in the reserves. He made his first-team debut on 6 November 2002, against Milan. In his second full season, he made 23 appearances, and increased his standing to 33 appearances the following season, although indiscipline saw him sent off three times in 16 matches in the 2006–07 season. He left Udinese for Portsmouth after five seasons in Italy.

Portsmouth

Muntari had already indicated a desire to move to the English Premier League, when in early 2007 transfer bids were received from Portsmouth. He eventually opted for Portsmouth and transferred on 30 May 2007, for a new club record fee, believed to be around £7.1 million, signing a five-year contract. He was a regular member of the first XI throughout the 2007–08 season, playing 29 League matches and scoring four goals. He made his Premier league debut on the opening match-day on 11 August 2007 in Pompey's 2–2 away draw against Derby County. On 29 September, Muntari scored his first goal and…

Youth

Muntari represented Black Starlets at the 2001 Meridian Cup, including a 1–1 draw with Portugal and losing to Italy 0–1. Muntari then was chosen for the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship as Ghana took second place.

Senior

He won his first senior cap against Slovenia on 17 May 2002, and became a regular fixture in the team as The Black Stars opened their 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign. He was selected for the Olympic side at Athens 2004, but was sent home for disciplinary reasons. This started a dispute between Muntari and the Ghana Football Association (GFA), and he said that he would refuse to play for his country again, setting the "record" for the youngest international retirement. He retracted, making a public apology to the Association, and was selected for the 2006 World Cup squad. He played in the first two matches, a 2–0 defeat by Italy and a 2–0 win over the Czech Republic, in which he scored, but having received a yellow cards in each game. He was suspended for the game against the United States, but returned for the second round match against Brazil, in which Ghana was eliminated. He remained a regular member of the team, and appeared in the 2008 African Cup of Nations side, scoring the winner in the first group match against Guinea and the second goal in the last group match against Morocco. He scored his third goal of the tournament when he scored a free-kick against Ivory Coast in the third-place play-off. His goal against…

A former left-back, Muntari later developed into a powerful, experienced, hard-working, and tenacious midfielder; although he is primarily known for his physical strength and combative playing style, he was also able to make notable improvements to his technical skills throughout his career. He also possesses a good left-foot, a powerful shot from outside the area, and is a solid passer of the ball. He primarily excels as a ball-winner, due to his energy, tactical intelligence, and ability to break down the opposition's play; a versatile footballer, although he is usually deployed as a defensive, central, or box-to-box midfielder, he is also capable of playing as a left winger or even as an attacking midfielder. Due to his aggressive and hard-tackling style of play, however, he has also been criticised for his tendency to pick up cards.

His younger brother is Sulley Muniru, who plays in the Russian Liga I. In December 2010, Muntari married Ghanaian businesswoman Menaye Donkor and they have a son. On 20 June 2015, it was reported that Donkor had given birth to the couple's first child. On 16 September 2020, Donkor confirmed the arrival of their second child, in an interview on GhOne TV. Muntari is a devout Muslim.