Béni Makouana

Béni Makouana (born 28 September 2002) is a Congolese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Polissya Zhytomyr and the Congo national team.

Béni Makouana

Makouana with Montpellier in 2021
Personal information
Date of birth	(2002-09-28) 28 September 2002 (age 22)
Place of birth	Brazzaville, Congo
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Polissya Zhytomyr
Number	10
Youth career
2014	CSO Espoir
2015	AC Mbila Sport
2016	Ajax de Ouenzé
2017	JS Poto-Poto
2019–2020	Académie SOAR
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2017–2019	Diables Noirs
2020–2023	Montpellier	31	(0)
2022–2023	Montpellier B	5	(0)
2023–	Polissya Zhytomyr	25	(4)
International career‡
2018–	Congo	7	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 31 December 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:40, 29 January 2022 (UTC)

Club career

During the early part of his career in his native Congo, Makouana won the 2018 Coupe du Congo with the Diables Noirs.^[2] He then went on to join Académie SOAR in Guinea in 2019.^[2]

On 19 October 2020, he signed for Montpellier in France for a reported transfer fee of €800,000. He was handed the number 28 jersey at the club, and initially began training with the reserve side.^[3] On 8 August 2021, Makouana made his professional debut for Montpellier as he came on as a late substitute in a 3–2 Ligue 1 loss to Marseille.^[4]

International career

Makouana made his debut for the Congo national team on 11 October 2018, coming on as a substitute in a 3–1 win over Liberia in Africa Cup of Nations qualification.^[5]

Personal life

Béni is the grandson of former footballers Gabard and Bolida Makouana, who both played for CARA Brazzaville in the 1960s and 70s.^[2]

Honours

Diables Noirs

• Coupe du Congo: 2018^[2]

Individual

• Ukrainian Premier League Player of the Month: October 2023^[6]