Guélor Kanga

Guélor Kanga Kaku (born 1 September 1990) is a Gabonese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Esenler Erokspor and the Gabon national team.

Club career Early years in Gabon Kanga started playing with AS Mangasport in 2007. Immediately in his first season as a senior at the club, he won the Gabon Championnat National D1. Kanga made his debut in the Russian Premier League on 9 March 2013 for Rostov against lania Vladikavkaz.

Kanga received a three match ban in December 2014 after being sent-off for Rostov against Spartak Moscow for responding to racist abuse from the Spartak fans with an obscene gesture.

During the four seasons Kanga spent at Rostov, he made 70 appearances in the Russian Premier League and scored on seven occasions. The first three seasons Rostov performed mostly mid-table however in his last season there the club finished second. Kanga was Miodrag Božović's transfer wish for Red Star's upcoming Champions League campaign, as Kanga and Božović had known each other over two years at Rostov. Kanga was the first Gabonese footballer in 33 years to play on Serbian soil, as the previous one was actually the first ever footballer from Africa to play in Yugoslav First League, Gabonese international Anselme Delicat, who in 1983 debuted for Serbian club FK Vojvodina. He opened way for numerous players from other African countries that came after him to the region.

Kanga made his debut in an official match for Red Star on 12 July 2016, as a starter in the first leg of the second qualifying round of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League against Maltese side Valletta away. Red Star won 2–1, and he assisted team mate Aleksandar Katai for the equaliser. He scored 15 league goals from well executed penalties, another 13 from game.

Red Star Belgrade On 31 July 2020, Kanga signed a three-year deal with Red Star Belgrade.

International career Since his debut in 2012, Kanga has been a regular at Gabon national team. Kanga featured for Gabon in the Africa Cup of Nations 2021 tournament in Cameroon.

Personal life In December 2021, Guélor Kanga acquired Serbian citizenship.

Controversy In April 2021, the Congolese Association Football Federation submitted a lawsuit against the country of Gabon for falsification of Kanga's identity. They claim that Kanga was born in Congo and is in fact four years older than the Gabonese birth certificate shows and that his birth name is Kiaku-Kiaku Kianga; allegedly, the Gabonese authorities gave him Gabonese citizenship with a new falsified birth certificate.

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