1. Gilbert Imbula Wanga was born on 12 September 1992 and is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder.
17 Facts About Giannelli Imbula
1. 2.
Giannelli Imbula began his career with French club Guingamp, where he progressed from the youth teams to make his professional debut in October 2009.
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Giannelli Imbula established himself as a key member of the Guingamp team in Ligue 2 and one of the stand out players in the division which saw him win the Ligue 2 Player of the Year Award.
4.
Giannelli Imbula was born in Vilvoorde, Belgium, to Congolese parents, who moved to Paris when he was young.
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Giannelli Imbula progressed through the youth team at the Stade de Roudourou and made his professional debut in Ligue 2 on 16 October 2009 in a game against Dijon, becoming the youngest player in Ligue 2 history at 17 years, 1 month and 4 days of age.
6.
Giannelli Imbula struggled to settle in Portugal and reports emerged that Porto would be willing to let him leave in the 2016 January transfer window.
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Giannelli Imbula made a good start to his Stoke career and earned the praise of teammate Geoff Cameron.
8.
Whilst at Stoke, Giannelli Imbula's attitude prompted some heavy criticism from some of his club teammates.
9.
Glen Johnson spoke on BBC Radio 5 Live in March 2019 about an occasion where Giannelli Imbula subbed himself in a pre-season game after someone did not pass him the ball, only to sub himself back on again ten minutes later.
10.
Giannelli Imbula played 34 times for Toulouse, helping them remain in Ligue 1 after they defeated Ajaccio in a relegation play-off.
11.
On 30 August 2018, Giannelli Imbula moved to La Liga side Rayo Vallecano on a one-year loan deal.
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On 3 March 2020, Giannelli Imbula signed for Russian Premier League club PFC Sochi.
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On 9 January 2023, Giannelli Imbula joined TFF First League club Tuzlaspor.
14.
In October 2015 Giannelli Imbula publicly expressed his desire to play for the Belgium national team, for which reason he has required authorization to FIFA to do so.
15.
Giannelli Imbula was called up to the DR Congo national team squad to face Tanzania on 14 March 2018, but rejected the call-up.
16.
One year later, Giannelli Imbula was named in the provisional DR Congo squad for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
17.
Giannelli Imbula married his fiancee, Linda, in the summer of 2016.