16 Facts About Rio Mavuba

Rio Antonio Zoba Mavuba was born on 8 March 1984 and is a French former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Rio Mavuba spent most of his professional career with Bordeaux and Lille, winning the 2011 national championship with the latter.

Rio Mavuba's father was Rio Mavuba Mafuila, a footballer who appeared at the 1974 FIFA World Cup with Zaire, while his mother was an Angolan national.

Rio Mavuba was born on board a boat in international waters during the period of the Angolan Civil War, and later stated that his birth certificate did not have a nationality on it, reading only "born at sea".

Rio Mavuba's mother died when he was two, and his father when he was 12 years old.

Rio Mavuba launched himself into football to help deal with his grief.

Rio Mavuba found it hard to break into the first team, only totalling 219 minutes in La Liga, and in late January 2008 joined Lille on loan until the end of the season.

Rio Mavuba appeared in 46 matches between the league and the Coupe de France in his third year, helping Les Dogues win both competitions, the former after a 57-year wait.

On 26 May 2015, Rio Mavuba signed a new four-year deal with Lille.

On 21 July 2017,33-year-old Rio Mavuba agreed to a three-year contract with Czech club Sparta Prague.

Rio Mavuba returned to his adopted homeland on 14 September 2018, signing with Championnat National 3 amateurs FCE Merignac-Arlac.

Rio Mavuba was appointed manager of his last team in April 2019.

On 28 August 2024, it was announced that Rio Mavuba had come out of retirement to help out his former club Bordeaux, recently relegated to the Championnat National 2.

In December 2003, Rio Mavuba played a friendly match with the DR Congo national under-21 team.

Rio Mavuba then turn down Claude Le Roy's invitations to play for DR Congo national team.

Rio Mavuba was selected by coach Didier Deschamps for his 2014 FIFA World Cup squad.