Shkodran Mustafi (born 17 April 1992) is a German professional footballer who plays as a centre-back.
2006
FC Bebra, and had a stint with SV Rotenburg, before joining Hamburger SV's youth setup in 2006.
2009
In May 2009, Mustafi joined Everton, initially assigned to the academy team.
He later stated that "Goodison Park feels like home", after turning down offers from Manchester City and Newcastle United.
Mustafi made his competitive debut on 16 December 2009, replacing Tony Hibbert in the 75th minute of a 0–1 home loss against BATE Borisov, for the season's UEFA Europa League.
He was also named on the bench for the Premier League matches against Arsenal and Manchester City in January.
Mustafi only appeared on the bench nine times in the following two campaigns, but never played in any further matches.
2012
Mustafi began his career in the youth ranks of Hamburger SV and English club Everton, where he made one substitute appearance for them before leaving to Sampdoria in January 2012.
In January 2012, Mustafi moved to Italian Serie B side Sampdoria, on a free transfer.
Mustafi was released by Everton after he asked manager David Moyes to allow him to move on for more game time.
Mustafi made his Samp debut on 26 May 2012, starting and playing the full 90 minutes of a 1–3 loss at Varese.
It was his maiden appearance in the competition, as Sampdoria returned to Serie A at first attempt.
He made his debut in the Italian top flight on 11 November 2012, starting in a 0–2 loss at Palermo.
On 26 October of the following year he scored his first professional goal, netting the game's only against Atalanta at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.
2014
He signed a five-year deal at Valencia in August 2014, and moved to Arsenal for a reported £35 million two years later.
He played 151 games for Arsenal.
He later returned to the Bundesliga with Schalke 04 and La Liga with Levante.
Mustafi made his full international debut against Poland on 13 May 2014, and was part of the German teams that won the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, also competing at UEFA Euro 2016.
Mustafi was born in Bad Hersfeld, Hesse, to a Macedonian Albanian family originally from Gostivar in the former Yugoslavia.
Mustafi started his career in the youth system of local 1.
On 7 August 2014, Mustafi signed a five-year deal with La Liga's Valencia CF, for an undisclosed fee, rumoured to be €8 million.
He debuted for his new team on 25 September, against Córdoba in an eventual 3–0 home win.
A month later, he scored his first goal for the team, opening a 3–1 home win over Elche.
In Valencia's next match on 2 November, against another regional rival, Villarreal, Mustafi scored a brace in a 3–1 away win to put Valencia into second place in the league.
2016
On 3 March 2016, Mustafi received a straight red card in the first half of Valencia's 7–0 loss at Barcelona in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final, after conceding a penalty with a foul on Lionel Messi.
He then pleaded for the team's forgiveness by the Che supporters.
On 30 August 2016, Mustafi joined English club Arsenal for an undisclosed fee, reported to be in excess of £35 million.
He made his debut in Arsenal's 2–1 Premier League win over Southampton at the Emirates Stadium on 10 September.
2017
Mustafi beat Bacary Sagna's record unbeaten start of 17 games at the club in Arsenal's 3–3 draw against Bournemouth with his 18th game without defeat.
On 22 January 2017, he scored his first goal for the club in a home 2–1 league win over Burnley.
Because of illness, he missed Arsenal's 2–1 win over Chelsea in the 2017 FA Cup Final on 27 May.
2018
Mustafi was in the starting 11 against Manchester City in the EFL Cup final on 25 February 2018.
He made a mistake in the 18th minute that allowed Sergio Agüero to score the first goal of a 3–0 City win.
2019
On 29 May 2019, he was an unused substitute in the Europa League final against Chelsea, in which Arsenal were defeated 4–1.
2020
He missed the 2020 FA Cup Final against the same team due to a hamstring injury, and Arsenal won 2–1.
On 29 August 2020, Mustafi missed Arsenal's victory over Liverpool in the 2020 FA Community Shield because of injury.
The following 1 February, Arsenal and Mustafi reached a mutual agreement to terminate his contract.
During his tenure at Arsenal, he developed a reputation for errors.
On 1 February 2021, Mustafi joined German side Schalke 04 on a permanent transfer.
He was reportedly signed as the replacement for Liverpool-bound Ozan Kabak on a six-month contract.
