Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting

Jean-Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (born 23 March 1989) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Bayern Munich.

Born in Germany, he plays for the Cameroon national team.

He played in the youth teams at Teutonia 05, Altona 93 and FC St. Pauli before joining Hamburger SV in 2004.

Choupo-Moting began his career with Hamburger SV, making his Bundesliga debut in August 2007.

He played semi-professional football with Hamburger SV II in the Regionalliga Nord before breaking into the first team in August 2007.

Choupo-Moting made his first appearance as a Hamburger SV player in a Bundesliga match on 11 August 2007, being sent on as a substitute in the 69th minute against Hannover 96.

He spent the 2009–10 season on loan at 1. FC Nürnberg and in August 2011 he joined 1. FSV Mainz 05.

Choupo-Moting struggled to establish himself in Martin Jol's side and he spent the 2009–10 season on loan at 1. FC Nürnberg with whom he scored six goals in 27 appearances helping Nürnberg retain their Bundesliga status.

On his return to Hamburg, Choupo-Moting struggled to make much impact in 2010–11 and after scoring just two goals by January he was set for another loan move this time to 1. FC Köln, however the move fell through after registration documents were faxed to the German Football Association too late.

After his botched transfer he spent the second half of the campaign with the reserves.

On 18 May 2011, Choupo-Moting signed a three-year contract with Bundesliga side 1. FSV Mainz 05 on a free transfer from Hamburg.

Choupo-Moting enjoyed a successful 2011–12 season with the club, scoring ten times in the Bundesliga.

However, he missed most of the 2012–13 season with a knee injury and was therefore unable to make an impact.

He returned to form in 2013–14, scoring ten goals in 32 appearances helping Mainz secure seventh position and qualification to the UEFA Europa League, however at the end of the campaign he decided not to renew his contract with the club.

After three seasons with Mainz he moved on to Schalke 04 in August 2014.

On 5 July 2014, after Choupo-Moting's contract expired at Mainz, FC Schalke 04 confirmed he had signed a three-year professional contract with them until 30 June 2017.

The transfer was reported as a free transfer by Schalke's sport and communications manager Horst Heldt.

Choupo-Moting was assigned the squad number 13.

On 6 December 2014, he scored a hat-trick in a 4–0 home win over VfB Stuttgart.

He became a regular for the Gelsenkirchen club, and made over 80 appearances, before joining Premier League side Stoke City in August 2017.

On 7 August 2017, Choupo-Moting joined Premier League side Stoke City on a three-year contract.

He made his debut for Stoke on 12 August 2017 against Everton.

Choupo-Moting scored both goals in a 2–2 draw against Manchester United on 9 September 2017 and was named man of the match by BBC Sport.

Against Everton, he came on as a substitute, scored within five minutes of his arrival, but injured himself in the process and Stoke lost 2–1.

Choupo-Moting played 32 times in 2017–18, scoring five goals as Stoke suffered relegation to the EFL Championship.

Struggling for minutes in the EFL Championship with Stoke, he decided to move to Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain on a two-year deal in August 2018.

On 31 August 2018, Choupo-Moting joined Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer.

He made his debut for the club on 18 September 2018 in the 3–2 Champions League away defeat against Liverpool before scoring on his Ligue 1 debut against Rennes five days later.

On 7 April 2019, Choupo-Moting made a mistake in the Ligue 1 home match against Strasbourg; when a shot from teammate Christopher Nkunku was about to cross the goal line, Choupo-Moting attempted to touch the ball with his left foot across the goal line but instead unintentionally diverted the ball onto the near post and prevented a certain goal.

The BBC described it as "the worst miss in the history of football".

On 25 August 2019, Choupo-Moting came off the bench to replace the injured Edinson Cavani in the 16th minute and scored twice in the second half of a 4–0 home win over Toulouse; his first goal was a superb solo goal scored after he beat four Toulouse defenders in the penalty area.

After his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expired, Choupo-Moting returned to the Bundesliga and joined Bayern Munich in October 2020 on a free transfer.

Choupo-Moting was born in Hamburg to a German mother and a Cameroonian father and began playing football at an early age.

On 12 August 2020, Choupo-Moting scored in the third minute of stoppage time against Atalanta in the Champions League, completing a late turnaround for PSG and sending the team into the semi-finals of the competition for the first time in 25 years.

Later on, he came on as a substitute in the Champions League final, which ended in a 1–0 defeat for Paris Saint-Germain against Bayern Munich.

On 5 October 2020, Choupo-Moting joined Bayern Munich on a one-year contract.

Choupo-Moting made his debut for Bayern in the first round of the DFB-Pokal on 15 October and scored twice as the club defeated fifth division side 1. FC Düren by a score of 3–0.

On 9 December, he scored his first Champions League goal with Bayern Munich in a 2–0 win over Lokomotiv Moscow.

He scored his first league goal on 25 February 2021, scoring the first goal in Bayern's 5–1 victory over 1. FC Köln.

In April 2021, he scored in both Champions League quarter-final matches against his former club Paris Saint-Germain, including a 1–0 away win at Parc des Princes, yet his club lost on the away goals rule after a 3–3 draw on aggregate.