Jérôme Boateng

Jérôme Agyenim Boateng (born 3 September 1988) is a German professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Salernitana.

Boateng started his career at Hertha BSC where he developed from the youth ranks to the first team.

After his debut season at Hertha, he soon signed for Hamburger SV and established himself as an integral part of the team, helping the club reach two consecutive UEFA Europa League semi-finals.

Boateng started his career with the youth team of Tennis Borussia Berlin, before joining Hertha BSC in 2002.

After emerging from the youth team set-up, he played for the reserves for two seasons.

He scored one goal in nine appearances in the 2005–06 season and made 15 appearances in the 2006–07 season.

He made his debut against Hannover 96 in the AWD-Arena, during week 19 of the 2006–07 Bundesliga season.

He then became a first-team regular, despite being barely 18 years of age.

He finished the 2006–07 season with 11 appearances for the first team.

He won a call-up to the first-team squad on 31 January 2007.

Boateng was linked with a move to Hamburger SV in the summer of 2007.

Because of this, according to the German media, Boateng did not want to sign a five-year professional contract with Hertha.

Boateng moved to Hamburg on 22 August 2007 for a fee said to be around €1.1 million.

He had made 37 appearances during the 2007–08 season.

Boateng spent two successful years at Hamburg, where he would go on to become an important part of the side's defence in the 2008–09 season which saw Hamburg in the race for the Bundesliga title, as well as reaching the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League in both his years at the club.

and 35 appearances during the 2008–09 season.

Boateng played in the Germany under-21 side which won the 2009 Euro U-21 Championship and was soon promoted to the national side.

In the 2009–10 season, he broke into the Germany national side after impressing for Hamburg, earning himself a place in the squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

He finished the 2009–10 season with a goal in 41 appearances.

On 5 June 2010, Premier League club Manchester City confirmed the transfer of Boateng to the English club for £10.4 million on a five-year deal, where he wore his favoured number 17 shirt.

He made his City debut in a pre-season friendly against Valencia for the first half, alternating between centre-back and right-back with Micah Richards.

After an impressive run, down the right flank, he provided the assisting cross for Gareth Barry to score.

During the week prior to the start of the 2010–11 Premier League season, Boateng suffered an injury setback on international duty with Germany during a friendly against Denmark.

He tore a tendon in his left knee, which was then aggravated on the plane home after a collision with a drinks trolley.

He made his debut for Manchester City with a substitute appearance during a 1–0 victory against Chelsea on 25 September 2010.

He followed this with a first competitive start in a 1–1 Europa League draw with Juventus, playing at right-back.

In his one season with City, Boateng made 24 appearances.

He also won the 2010–11 FA Cup despite not being a member of the matchday squad for the final.

After a season in England, with Manchester City, he joined Bayern Munich in 2011 and won many domestic and European honours with the club, most notably the continental treble in the 2012–13 and 2019–20 seasons.

His contract ran out on 30 June 2021 and he subsequently became a free agent before opting to sign for Lyon.

In June 2011, Boateng expressed his desire to leave Manchester City for Bayern Munich, stating that playing for Bayern would help his chances of playing regularly for the Germany national team and that he was frustrated at having to play almost exclusively at right-back.

On 14 July 2011, Bayern confirmed the transfer of Boateng to the German club for a fee of €13.5 million on a four-year deal.

He was given the same number 17 shirt he wore at Manchester City and for most of his time with Hamburg.

He made his debut on 27 July 2011 as a second-half substitute for Rafinha during the 2011 Audi Cup in a match against Milan.

His Bundesliga debut for Bayern came in a 0–1 home defeat against Borussia Mönchengladbach, on 6 August; an error between himself and fellow new signing goalkeeper Manuel Neuer allowed Igor de Camargo to score the only goal.

The team finished the season as runners-up in the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League, with Boateng playing the finals of the latter two tournaments in their entirety.

He made 48 appearances during the 2011–12 season.

Boateng has since accumulated over 70 caps and represented Germany at UEFA Euro 2012, Euro 2016, 2010 World Cup, 2014 World Cup, and 2018 World Cup.

He was a key member of his country's victory in the 2014 World Cup.

He is the younger half-brother of fellow footballer Kevin-Prince Boateng.