PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: Cedric Bakambu - Congolese people became Villarreal fans because of Bakambu

Cedric Bakambu

Tuesday Apr 03, 2018. 16:00

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) journalist Dickson Yalla has disclosed that Congolese people became Villarreal CF fans because of Bakambu.

This was after the DRC international joined the Spanish La Liga side in 2015 and he was rubbing shoulders with the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in some of the world's most famous football stadiums.

It is said that adulation in DRC reached levels not seen since Shabani Nonda was strutting his stuff for French Ligue 1 giants AS Monaco in the early 2000s.

"When Cedric Bakambu started playing for Villarreal, all the Congolese people became fans of Villarreal," Yalla said on Bleacherreport.

"On every street in the country, whenever they were playing, you'd find a huge crowd of people watching.

Bakambu scored six goals in October, 2017 and he was named La Liga Player of the Month, the first African to win the award.

"People here generally support Barcelona or Real Madrid, but when the 'Yellow Submarine' played, everyone was in front of a TV," he added.

"I remember he scored against Barca or Real once, in a match played on a Sunday night, and people in Kinshasa screamed so much it was even louder than when the national team score."

The 26-year-old striker signed a long-term deal with Chinese Super League side Beijing Guoan while the transfer fee paid was reported as €74 million which would constitute "an African transfer record in February, 2018.