Émile Mpenza

Belgium, Germany and Qatar

Mpenza started his career at K.V. Kortrijk, and then moved to R.E. Mouscron and Standard Liège in quick succession, with older brother Mbo playing alongside in all three clubs. In 2000, he moved to Bundesliga side FC Schalke 04, in an exchange with Michaël Goossens. At Schalke he was very successful together with his compatriot Marc Wilmots and other striker Ebbe Sand but they failed to win the German title on the last day of competition. Mpenza returned to Standard three years later. In 2004–05 he returned to Germany, signing for Hamburger SV. However, in January 2006 he made a surprise move to Qatari team Al Rayyan.

Manchester City

Mpenza signed for Manchester City, after playing and scoring in a specially arranged match at Eastlands on 14 February 2007. "I am not finished and I will prove it in Manchester", Mpenza told Belgian radio station Bel RTL. "I make this move as revenge, with respect to all those who criticised my decision to play in Qatar". He made his debut against Wigan Athletic on 3 March 2007 as a half-time substitute replacing Georgios Samaras. He scored his first goal for the club in the 2–0 win at Middlesbrough on 17 March 2007, and his second in the 1–0 victory at Newcastle United on 30 March. He scored once more in the 2006–07 season, away to Tottenham Hotspur on the last day of the season, as City lost 2–1. Having signed until the end of the 2007–08 season, Mpenza scored on City's first pre-season game of…

Mpenza played for the Belgium national football team between 1997 and 2009, though he was frequently injured in times of international call-ups. He played alongside his brother Mbo in the 1998 World Cup and in Euro 2000 where he scored a goal in the opening match against Sweden (which ended with Belgium's victory 2–1), but missed out on the World Cup in 2002 with a groin injury.

International goals

Scores and results list Belgium's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mpenza goal.

Club

Schalke 04

DFB-Pokal: 2000–01, 2001–02 Hamburger SV

UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2005 Neftchi Baku

Azerbaijan Premier League: 2010–11

Individual

Belgian Young Professional Footballer of the Year: 1996–97 Belgian Ebony Shoe: 1997 Best Belgian Footballer Abroad: 2000 kicker German Football Rankings - International Class Player: 2000-01 Standard Liège Man of the Season: 2003–04