Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is a Gabonese footballer who plays as a forward for FC Barcelona.

The striker started his career at Italian giants AC Milan following spells at a number of French clubs as a youth player.

Pierre-Emerick didn’t make a competitive appearance for the Serie A side but spent time on loan at Dijon, Lille, Monaco and Saint-Etienne.

Aubameyang completed a permanent move to Saint-Etienne in 2010 and spent three seasons at the French club before Borussia Dortmund signed the Gabon international.

He established himself as one of Europe’s top goal-scorers at Dortmund under two different managers: Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel.

Pierre-Emerick completed a move to Arsenal in a £56m deal from Dortmund on 31 January 2018. He left Arsenal on a free transfer to join FC Barcelona in the 2022 January transfer window.

Aubameyang has been a regular fixture in the Gabon team since making his debut in 2009.

AC Milan

Pierre-Emerick spent time at a number of different French clubs during his youth career.

The Gabon striker ended up at Serie A giants AC Milan. However, he never made a competitive appearance for the Italian club.

Despite impressing during a friendly tournament, AC Milan sent out the striker on a series of loans to French teams.

Dijon (loan)

Pierre-Emerick earned rave reviews during his stint at Dijon as an 18-year-old.

The forward scored 10 goals and made two assists in all competitions to earn praise from the Dijon manager Daniel Joseph.

Lille (loan)

His brief spell at Lille didn’t go so well. He scored two goals in 14 games in all competitions.

Monaco (loan)

Continuing his journey around some of France’s top clubs, Pierre-Emerick moved to AS Monaco on loan for the 2010-11 season.

Aubameyang produced underwhelming figures during his six-month spell in The Principality. Indeed, he scored just two goals in 23 appearances in all competitions.

Saint-Etienne

The striker spent the second half of the 2010-11 season on loan at Saint-Etienne.

It was at les Verts that Pierre-Emerick started to realise his talent and build his reputation.

He was handed the number seven shirt and it wasn’t long before Aubameyang scored his first hat-trick for the French club.

In fact, Pierre-Emerick finished the season as Ligue 1’s leading goal-scorer following a return of 16 goals.

The forward got his hands on his first piece of silverware as a professional when Saint-Etienne won the Coupe de la France in 2013.

Pierre-Emerick scored 18 times in 38 games in all competitions during his second season at Saint-Etienne.

His final season at the French club saw Aubameyang net 19 goals in 37 games in Ligue 1. Only Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored more goals than the Saint-Etienne striker.

Unsurprisingly, Pierre-Emerick’s prolific form attracted interest from some top European clubs.

Borussia Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund won the race to sign Aubameyang ahead of reported interest from the Premier League. The striker signed a five-year deal with the German club on 4 July 2013.

Aubameyang came off the bench to make an assist on his debut in Dortmund’s 4-2 win over Bayern Munich in the German Sup Cup.

Pierre-Emerick scored with his first shot in the Bundesliga before he went on to complete a hat-trick in a 3-0 victory over FC Augsburg on 10 August.

The striker finished the 2013-14 season with respectable figures of 16 goals and four assists in 46 games in all competitions.

He started his second campaign at Dortmund with a goal in a 2-0 win over Bayern Munich in the German Super Cup.

The German club struggled with injuries during the 2014-15 season but Pierre-Emerick continued to show prolific form in front of goal.

Indeed, Aubameyang netted 25 times in 46 games in four different competitions.

Manager Jurgen Klopp stood down as Dortmund head coach at the end of the campaign, but Aubameyang was still rewarded for his form with a five-year contract to run until 2020.

Under Klopp’s successor Thomas Tuchel, Pierre-Emerick blossomed into a world-class striker.

He became the first player in Bundesliga history to score in the opening six games of a season. He managed to extend that run to eight games following his effort against Bayern before Mainz 05 stopped the free-scoring striker.

Other season highlights included the winner in a 3-2 victory over Schalke 04 in the Revierderby.

Pierre-Emerick scored home and away in a 5-1 aggregate win against Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League last 16. Aubameyang scored at Anfield in the quarter-final but Dortmund squandered a lead to lose 4-3 to their former manager Klopp’s Liverpool team.

The Gabon striker finished the season with 40 goals in 46 games in all competitions. However, his 25 Bundesliga goals wasn’t sufficient to dislodge Robert Lewandowski as the German top flight’s leading goal-scorer.

Pierre-Emerick was handed the captain’s armband for the first time following his impressive start to the 2016-17 season. The skipper scored a goal in the 3–3 draw at FC Ingolstadt.

The forward carried over his prolific form to the Champions League with three goals in their opening three group-stage games.

However, the first signs of his ill discipline arose when he was suspended for one game due to “an internal issue”.

A motivated Aubameyang scored four goals and made an assist in a 5-2 win over Hamburg on his return to the Dortmund team. He went on to score the winner in a 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich to help BVB beat their bitter rivals in the Bundesliga for the first time since 2014.

His 100th Bundesliga goal came in a 2-2 draw with 1989 Hoffenheim on 16 December.

Pierre-Emerick netted a hat-trick in a 4-0 win over Benfica to book their place in the Champions League quarter-finals before elimination at the hands of Real Madrid.

He finished the season as the Bundesliga’s top goal-scorer with 31 goals in 32 games.

Tuchel left Dortmund in the summer and appointed former Ajax head coach Peter Borz. Pierre-Emerick netted 20 times in 21 games under Borz despite the team’s inconsistent performances.

Arsenal

Aubameyang completed a club-record £56m move to Arsenal from Dortmund on 31 January 2018. The deadline day signing signed a long-term contract with the Gunners.

He made an instant impact with a goal on his debut in a 5-1 win against Everton on 3 February.

He ended the season with aplomb thanks to goals from Burnley, Huddersfield and Leicester.

Aubameyang scored 10 goals and made four assists in his first 13 Premier League appearances.

He helped Arsenal to win the FA Cup trophy in the 2019-20 season.

FC Barcelona

Aubameyang left Arsenal on a free transfer to sign for Spanish side FC Barcelona in the January 2022 transfer window.

International Career

Pierre-Emerick was invited to play with the Italy Under-19 team during his spell at Dijon. However, the striker opted to line up for the France Under-21 side.

Pierre-Emerick is a Spanish national, too. However, he eventually decided to follow in the footsteps of his father and represent African nation Gabon.

Aubameyang helped Gabon to qualify for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. He scored three goals in the tournament.

The striker scored Gabon’s first ever goal at the Olympic Games before his country was eliminated at the group stage.

Pierre-Emerick captained Gabon at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. He finished with three goals in the tournament.

Aubameyang has netted 29 times in 71 appearances for Gabon (as of December 2021).

Personal Life

Aubameyang has two half-brothers who were part of the AC Milan youth set-up.

His father, Pierre Aubameyang, made 80 appearances for the Gabon national team. His mother is Spanish.

Pierre-Emerick is married to his wife Alysha Behague, and the couple have two children together.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – Did You Know?

• During the warm up before Saint-Etienne’s clash against Lyon, the flamboyant striker wore a £2,500 pair of Swarovski crystal-encrusted boots.

• His father works as a scout for Italian giants AC Milan.