Wilfrid Kaptoum

Wilfrid Jaures Kaptoum (born 7 July 1996) is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Greek Super League club Panserraikos.^[2]

Wilfrid Kaptoum

Kaptoum in 2013
Personal information
Full name	Wilfrid Jaures Kaptoum
Date of birth	(1996-07-07) 7 July 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth	Douala, Cameroon
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s)	Central midfielder
Team information
Current team	Panserraikos
Number	6
Youth career
	Samuel Eto'o Academy
2008–2015	Barcelona
2009–2010	→ Sant Andreu (loan)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014–2018	Barcelona B	42	(6)
2015–2016	Barcelona	0	(0)
2018–2019	Betis B	17	(0)
2018–2020	Betis	15	(0)
2020	→ Almería (loan)	8	(0)
2021–2022	New England Revolution	42	(2)
2023	Las Palmas	11	(0)
2023–2024	AEK Larnaca	14	(0)
2024–	Panserraikos	7	(0)
International career
2014–2015	Cameroon U20	8	(2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 1 December 2024

Club career

Barcelona

Born in Douala, Kaptoum joined FC Barcelona's youth ranks in 2008, aged 12, after a stint in Samuel Eto'o's foundation.^[3] He was subsequently loaned to neighbouring UE Sant Andreu,^[4] and in June 2014 was promoted to the reserves in Segunda División.^[5]

Kaptoum played his first match as a professional on 23 August 2014, starting in a 2–0 away loss against CA Osasuna.^[6] He scored his first goal on 19 October, netting the second in a 4–1 home win against AD Alcorcón.^[7] On 28 October 2015, Kaptoum made his debut for Barcelona's first team, starting in a goalless draw away to CF Villanovense in that season's Copa del Rey.^[8]

Kaptoum's first appearance in the UEFA Champions League came on 9 December 2015, in a 1–1 draw away to Leverkusen.^[9][10] In another 1–1 draw game against Valencia CF on 10 February 2016, he scored his debut goal for the first team 2 minutes after coming in as a substitute in the second leg of Copa del Rey semifinals.^[11][12] His goal also served to extend FC Barcelona's unbeaten run to 29 games, breaking the previous record of 28 games set under Pep Guardiola in the 2010–11 season.^[13]

Kaptoum sustained a knee injury which kept him out of action for five months. He returned to fitness in December 2017.^[14] On 29 January 2018, he agreed to terminate his contract with Barcelona.^[14]

Betis

On 31 January 2018, two days after leaving Barcelona, Kaptoum signed with Real Betis and was initially assigned to the B-team.^[15] He made his first team debut on 4 October, replacing Sergio León in a 3–0 home defeat of F91 Dudelange, for the season's UEFA Europa League.^[16]

Kaptoum made his La Liga debut on 3 February 2019, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 home win against Atlético Madrid.^[17] On 10 January 2020, Kaptoum joined UD Almería on loan for the remainder of the season.^[18]

On 5 October 2020, Kaptoum terminated his contract with the Verdiblancos.^[19]

New England Revolution

On 23 December 2020, the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer announced the signing of Kaptoum on a free transfer.^[20][21] He scored his first goal for the club against Chicago Fire on 16 October 2021. Following the 2022 season, New England opted to decline his contract option.^[22]

Las Palmas

On 13 January 2023, Kaptoum returned to Spain and its second division, after signing a short-term deal with UD Las Palmas.^[23]

AEK Larnaca

On 13 July 2023, Kaptoum joined Cypriot First Division club AEK Larnaca.^[24]

International career

In 2019, he was selected by coach Clarence Seedorf to participate in the final phase of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations held in Egypt, although he never made his debut with the selection. Cameroon is in the eighth final against Nigeria, with Kaptoum remaining on the bench.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 8 December 2023^[25]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Barcelona B	2013–14	Segunda División	0	0	—		—		—		0	0
	2014–15		3	1	—		—		—		3	1
	2015–16	Segunda División B	25	3	—		—		—		25	3
	2016–17		14	2	—		—		2[a]	0	16	2
	Total		42	6	0	0	0	0	2	0	44	6
Barcelona	2015–16	La Liga	0	0	2	1	1[b]	0	—		3	1
	2016–17		0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		0	0	2	1	1	0	0	0	3	1
Betis B	2017–18	Segunda División B	12	0	—		—		—		12	0
	2018–19	Tercera División	5	0	—		—		—		5	0
	Total		17	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	17	0
Betis	2018–19	La Liga	10	0	3	0	—		—		13	0
	2019–20		5	0	1	1	2[c]	0	—		8	1
	Total		15	0	4	1	2	0	0	0	21	1
Almería (loan)	2019–20	Segunda División	8	0	0	0	—		—		8	0
New England Revolution	2021	MLS	21	1	0	0	—		—		21	1
	2022		21	1	1	0	—		—		22	1
	Total		42	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	43	2
Las Palmas	2022–23	La Liga	11	0	0	0	—		—		11	0
Larnaca	2023–24	Cypriot First Division	11	0	0	0	3[d]	0	—		14	0
Career total			146	8	7	2	6	0	2	0	161	10

1. Two appearances in Segunda División B play-offs
2. Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
3. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
4. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

Honours

Barcelona

• Copa del Rey: 2015–16
• UEFA Youth League: 2013–14^[26]

New England Revolution

• Supporters' Shield: 2021

References

1. revolutionsoccer.net. "Wilfrid Kaptoum | New England Revolution". revolutionsoccer.net. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
2. "ΑΕΚ Λάρνακας: Παρελθόν και επίσημα ο Καπτούμ, συνεχίζει στον Πανσερραϊκό | Gazzetta".
3. Kaptoum, el único mediocentro africano (Kaptoum, the only African central midfielder); El Mundo Deportivo, 9 May 2012 (in Spanish)
4. Kaptoum, un Zidane de color y vestido del Barça (Kaptoum, a black Zidane and wearing Barça); Sport, 14 May 2014 (in Spanish)
5. Kaptoum tiene muchos números para subir al Barça B (Kaptoum has many numbers to rise to Barça B); Sport, 20 June 2014 (in Spanish)
6. Un doblete de Nino endulza la vuelta a Segunda tras 14 años (A Nino's double makes the return to Segunda after 14 years sweeter); Marca, 23 August 2014 (in Spanish)
7. Adama Traoré se disfraza de gacela para devorar al Alcorcón (Adama Traoré uses a gazelle costume to devour Alcorcón); Marca, 19 October 2014 (in Spanish)
8. "Kaptoum y Aitor debutan con el primer equipo del Barcelona" [Kaptoum and Aitor debut with Barcelona's first team] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 28 October 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
9. "Cámara y Kaptoum debutan en Champions" [Cámara y Kaptoum make their debut in the Champions League]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 9 December 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
10. "Bayer Leverkusen 1 - 1 Barcelona Player & Team ratings - 09/12/2015 UEFA Champions League". goal.com. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
11. "Valencia 1-1 Barcelona (agg 1-8): Neville denied rare win as Barça break record". goal.com. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
12. "Barça salvage 1-1 King's Cup draw against improved Valencia". Reuters. Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
13. "El FC Barcelona, a la final de la Copa del Rey con récord" [Kaptoum extends Barça's unbeaten run as Luis Enrique's side stroll into Copa final]. Sport (in Spanish). 10 February 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
14. Rojo, Luis F. (29 January 2018). "Barcelona youngster Kaptoum to join Real Betis". Marca. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
15. Gillingham, Geoff (31 January 2018). "La Masia poster boys Bartra and Tello reunite at Real Betis". Marca. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
16. "Betis 3–0 Dudelange". UEFA.com. 4 October 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
17. "Canales cierra los caminos" [Canales blocks the pathways] (in Spanish). Marca. 3 February 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
18. "The transfer of Kaptoum to Almeria is now official". Sportsfinding. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
19. "Wilfrid Kaptoum deja de pertenecer a la disciplina del Real Betis" [Wilfrid Kaptoum leaves Real Betis] (in Spanish). Real Betis. 5 October 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
20. Sigal, Jonathan (23 December 2020). "New England Revolution sign midfielder Wilfrid Kaptoum after La Liga stops". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
21. "Revolution continue to reshape roster for 2021 by signing midfielder Wilfrid Kaptoum". Boston Globe. 23 December 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
22. "New England Revolution announce year-end roster moves | New England Revolution". revolutionsoccer.net.
23. "Wilfrid Kaptoum, nuevo jugador de la UD Las Palmas" [Wilfrid Kaptoum, new player of UD Las Palmas] (in Spanish). UD Las Palmas. 13 January 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
24. AEK Larnaca (13 June 2023). "Welcome to 𝐀𝐄𝐊 𝐋𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐚, @Kaptoum5! 🔰". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 8 December 2023.
25. Wilfrid Kaptoum at Soccerway. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
26. "First Youth League title goes Barcelona's way". UEFA.com. 14 April 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2015.

External links

• Wilfrid Kaptoum – UEFA competition record (archive)