Abdoulaye Ba · Biography

The first trophy of Abdoulaye Ba’s career was the 2011-12 Taça de Portugal, which he won with Académica de Coimbra while on loan from Porto. He was born on 1 January 1991 in Saint-Louis, in northern Senegal. He is a centre-back who stands 1.97 metres tall, and almost his entire career was spent in Europe: he played in Portugal, Spain, Turkey, Germany, Romania and Azerbaijan before joining Saudi club Al-Faisaly in 2024. He represented Senegal at under-23 level, went to the London 2012 Olympic Games and earned caps for the senior national team. His older brothers, Mamadou Ba and Pape Samba Ba, were also professional footballers.

From Saint-Louis to the Porto academy

Ba came through the ranks at ASC Linguère, the club of his home town. In 2008 he moved to Europe to join the youth set-up at Porto, where he finished his development as a central defender. His height, close to two metres, made him stand out in the club’s youth sides. In 2010, as he stepped up to senior football, Porto decided to send him out on loan so that he could build up playing time before trying to break into a squad that dominated Portuguese football.

Covilhã, Académica and the league title with Porto

His first loan took him to Sporting da Covilhã, in the Portuguese second tier, for the 2010-11 season. He scored nine goals that year, an unusual tally for a centre-back. In 2011-12 he played in the Primeira Liga with Académica de Coimbra, who won the Taça de Portugal by beating Sporting in the final. In September 2012 Porto bought back 25% of his economic rights for €750,000 from the company Pearl Design Holding Limited. During the 2012-13 season Ba split his time between the first team and Porto B, and he was part of the squad that won the 2012-13 Primeira Liga and lost the Taça da Liga final. In 2013-14 he went out on loan again, this time to Vitória de Guimarães.

With Senegal: London 2012 and the senior side

For the Senegal under-23 team he played four matches and scored one goal between 2011 and 2012. He was named in the squad for the London 2012 Olympic Games, where the Senegalese side reached the quarter-finals. That same year he made his senior debut, on 29 February 2012, in a friendly against South Africa that finished 0-0. He won six senior caps, five in 2012 and one in 2013, without scoring a goal.

Rayo Vallecano, Turkey and Germany

In the summer of 2014 he joined Paco Jémez’s Rayo Vallecano on loan and made 20 appearances in the Spanish top flight during the 2014-15 season. In 2015-16 Porto loaned him to Fenerbahçe, and in 2016 he stayed in the Turkish league, again on loan, to play for Alanyaspor. His final loan from Portugal took him to TSV 1860 Munich, in the German second division, for the first half of 2017. He scored three league goals for the Bavarian club.

Back in Vallecas

In 2017 he signed permanently for Rayo Vallecano, who were then playing in the Spanish second division. In the 2017-18 season, with Míchel as coach, the team won the Segunda División title and returned to the top flight. Ba was still in the squad in 2018-19, the campaign that ended with the Madrid club’s relegation. In early 2020 he joined Deportivo de La Coruña on loan, then also in the second division, and played three league games for them before leaving Rayo for good.

Romania, Portugal, Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia

In 2020 he signed for Dinamo Bucharest, where he played only three league matches. In 2021 he returned to Portuguese football with Moreirense, and in the 2021-22 season he played for Arouca, making 20 appearances in the Primeira Liga. He then moved to Azerbaijan to join Sabah, scoring two league goals for them in 2022-23. In 2023-24 he went back to Portugal once more to play for Tondela. In July 2024 he left for Saudi Arabia and joined Al-Faisaly on a free transfer.