Éric Maxim Choupo-Moting

Club career Early career Choupo-Moting was born in Hamburg to a German mother and a Cameroonian father and began playing football at an early age. He played in the youth teams at Teutonia 05, Altona 93 and FC St. Pauli before joining Hamburger SV in 2004. He played semi-professional football with Hamburger SV II in the Regionalliga Nord before breaking into the first team in August 2007.

Hamburger SV

Choupo-Moting made his first appearance as a Hamburger SV player in a Bundesliga match on 11 August 2007, being sent on as a substitute in the 69th minute against Hannover 96. On his return to Hamburg, Choupo-Moting struggled to make much impact in 2010–11 and after scoring just two goals by January he was set for another loan move this time to 1. FC Köln, however the move fell through after registration documents were faxed to the German Football Association too late. After his botched transfer he spent the second half of the campaign with the reserves. Choupo-Moting enjoyed a successful 2011–12 season with the club, scoring ten times in the Bundesliga. However, he missed most of the 2012–13 season with a knee injury and was therefore unable to make an impact. He returned to form in 2013–14, scoring ten goals in 32 appearances helping Mainz secure seventh position and qualification to the UEFA Europa League, however at the end of the campaign he decided not to renew his contract with the club. The transfer was reported as a free transfer by Schalke's sport and communications manager Horst Heldt.

Stoke City On 7 August 2017, Choupo-Moting joined Premier League side Stoke City on a three-year contract. He made his debut for Stoke on 12 August 2017 against Everton. Choupo-Moting scored both goals in a 2–2 draw against Manchester United on 9 September 2017 and was named man of the match by BBC Sport. Against Everton, he came on as a substitute, scored within five minutes of his arrival, but injured himself in the process and Stoke lost 2–1. Choupo-Moting played 32 times in 2017–18, scoring five goals as Stoke suffered relegation to the EFL Championship.

Paris Saint-Germain

2018–19 season On 31 August 2018, Choupo-Moting joined Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer. He made his debut for the club on 18 September 2018 in the 3–2 Champions League away defeat against Liverpool before scoring on his Ligue 1 debut against Rennes five days later. On 7 April 2019, Choupo-Moting made a mistake in the Ligue 1 home match against Strasbourg; when a shot from teammate Christopher Nkunku was about to cross the goal line, Choupo-Moting attempted to touch the ball with his left foot across the goal line but instead unintentionally diverted the ball onto the near post and prevented a certain goal. The BBC described it as "the worst miss in the history of football". On 12 August 2020, Choupo-Moting scored in the third minute of stoppage time against Atalanta in the Champions League, completing a late turnaround for PSG and sending the team into the semi-finals of the competition for the first time in 25 years. Later on, he came on as a substitute in the Champions League final, which ended in a 1–0 defeat for Paris Saint-Germain against Bayern Munich.

Bayern Munich

2020–21 season On 5 October 2020, Choupo-Moting joined Bayern Munich on a one-year contract. Choupo-Moting made his debut for Bayern in the first round of the DFB-Pokal on 15 October and scored twice as the club defeated fifth division side 1. FC Düren by a score of 3–0. On 9 December, he scored his first Champions League goal with Bayern Munich in a 2–0 win over Lokomotiv Moscow. He scored his first league goal on 25 February 2021, scoring the first goal in Bayern's 5–1 victory over 1. FC Köln. In April 2021, he scored in both Champions League quarter-final matches against his former club Paris Saint-Germain, including a 1–0 away win at Parc des Princes, yet his club lost on the away goals rule after a 3–3 draw on aggregate. In May 2021, he lifted his first Bundesliga title with Bayern.

2021–22 season On 17 August 2021, he came on in the 88th minute for Robert Lewandowski during the 2021 DFL-Supercup, a 3–1 win over Borussia Dortmund to clinch the DFL-Supercup title. On 25 August 2021, he scored his first hat-trick at Bayern after scoring four goals in the club's first round 12–0 win over Bremer SV in the DFB-Pokal. This made him the first Bayern player since March 2005 when Claudio Pizarro scored four goals against Freiburg in the 2004–05 DFB-Pokal season. He also set up three other goals in the match, making him the first ever Bayern player to be directly involved in seven goals in the DFB-Pokal since records began in the 2008–09 season.

2022–23 season On 16 October 2022, he scored his first Bundesliga goal of the season in a 5–0 win over Freiburg. Afterwards, he scored a goal in each of the last two group stage matches against Barcelona and Inter Milan, in which Bayern Munich finished top of their Group C with six wins out of six matches for the second year in a row. On 3 March 2023, he signed a one-year contract extension until 30 June 2024.

2023–24 season

On 23 September 2023, he scored his first Bundesliga goal of the season in a 5–0 win over VfL Bochum. On 11 November 2023, he netted Bayern's fourth goal in a 4–2 victory over Heidenheim. Thus, he succeeded in scoring against every Bundesliga club competing that season. On 12 May 2024, it was officially announced that he would leave the club upon the expiration of his contract.

New York Red Bulls

On 18 December 2024, it was announced that Choupo-Moting had joined MLS side New York Red Bulls on a free transfer. On 15 March 2025, Choupo-Moting recorded his first goal for New York, on a penalty kick, in a 2–2 draw with Orlando City SC. On 28 May 2025, Choupo-Moting scored two goals from the penalty spot in a 4–2 victory over Charlotte FC.

International career

Germany Choupo-Moting has a German passport and represented his country of birth and his mother's country Germany at the 2008 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification for the 2008 UEFA European Under-19 Championship and at the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification for the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. "With regards to the protest lodged by the Tunisian Football Federation in relation to the eligibility of Choupo-Moting representing Cameroon, FIFA had communicated to the Tunisia Football Federation that no breach of the FIFA regulations has been committed by the Cameroonian Football Federation," On 3 January 2017, he announced that he would not play in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.

On 9 November 2022, he was included in the 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. On 28 November, he scored his first World Cup goal in a 3–3 draw against Serbia.

2026 World Cup qualifying and AFCON exclusion Following the unsuccessful 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign, Choupo-Moting was among four veteran players excluded from the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations squad.

Personal life Choupo-Moting was born in Altona, Hamburg, and he attended Gymnasium Altona. He was born to a German mother and Cameroonian father.

Choupo-Moting has a German wife named Nevin. They have two children, born 2013 and 2021.

Style of play Choupo-Moting is often stationed as a striker or on the left wing.

International

As of match played 28 November 2022. Cameroon score listed first, score column indicates score after each Choupo-Moting goal. 2019–20 Coupe de France: 2019–20; runner-up: 2018–19 Coupe de la Ligue: 2019–20 UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2019–20 Bayern Munich Bundesliga: 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23 DFL-Supercup: 2021, 2022 FIFA Club World Cup: 2020 Cameroon

African Cup of Nations third place: 2021

Individual Fritz Walter Medal U18 Silver: 2007