Chancel Mbemba

Chancel Mangulu Mbemba (born 8 August 1988) is a Congolese international footballer who plays as a defender for Portuguese club Porto and the DR Congo national team.
In his professional career he represented Anderlecht of Belgium, Newcastle United in England and Porto from Portugal. A full international for the DR Congo national team since 2012, he earned over 50 caps and represented the country at four Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, coming third in 2015.
Early life.
Mbemba grew up in Kinshasa in a family of nine children. His mother, Antoinette, is a former basketball player who represented DR Congo.
A 2013 report by CNN found that documents support four different dates of birth for Mbemba 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 would 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.
Club career.
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.
Mbemba mainly played with Anderlecht reserve and youth teams. At this point Mbemba requested to have a bone scan to dispel rumours that he was older than he actually was. Mbemba eventually made his senior debut on 28 July 2013 in their opening match of the 2013–14 Belgian Pro League season, a 2–3 defeat to Lokeren.
He made a further 28 appearances during the 2014–15 season as they finished in third spot in the league. They also finished 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, Primeira Liga side Porto signed Mbemba for a reported £7.14 million fee. He made his debut on 31 October in a 4–2 home win over Varzim S.C. in the group stage of the Taça da Liga, with manager Sérgio Conceição sending out a completely different team to the previous league game. Four days later he made his Primeira Liga bow as an 80th-minute substitute for striker Yacine Brahimi in a 2–0 victory at C.S. Marítimo; he played only two more league games that season, one of which was a start in a 3–1 win over C.D. Nacional at the "Estádio do Dragão" on 7 January 2019. He also played two matches for the reserve team in LigaPro.
Mbemba scored his first goal for the Dragons on 24 November 2019, opening a 4–0 home win over Vitória F.C. that qualified his team to the last 16 of the Taça de Portugal. The following 7 March, he was on the scoreboard for the first time in the league, in a 1–1 draw with Rio Ave F.C. at the same venue; his team ended the season as champions. On 1 August 2020, Mbemba scored both goals of a 2–1 win over Benfica in the Taça de Portugal Final.
International career.
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.
Honours.
Club.
Anderlecht
Newcastle United
FC Porto
International.
DR Congo