Christian Kofane

Christian Kofane
Kofane with Bayer Leverkusen in 2025
Personal information
Full name Christian Michel Kofane
Date of birth (2006-07-26) 26 July 2006 (age 20)
Place of birth Douala, Cameroon
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position Forward
Team information
Current team
 Bayer Leverkusen
Number 35
Youth career
AS Vatican Sport Étude
AS Nylon
2024–2025 Albacete
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2025 Albacete 20 (8)
2025– Bayer Leverkusen 33 (7)
International career‡
2024– Cameroon U20
2025– Cameroon 7 (2)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20 September 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 24 September 2026

Christian Michel Kofane (born 26 July 2006) is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen and the Cameroon national team.

Club career

Albacete

Born to Cameroonian parents, Kofane moved to France with his parents. Kofane holds dual Cameroonian-French citizenship. Kofane joined Albacete Balompié's youth sides in November 2024, after the club established a partnership with AS Nylon. After impressing with the Juvenil side by scoring six goals in six appearances, he was called up to train with the first team by manager Alberto González.

Kofane made his professional debut on 11 January 2025, starting and scoring the opener in a 2–2 Segunda División home draw against Racing de Santander. He finished the season with eight goals, attracting interest of several European clubs.

Bayer Leverkusen

On 11 July 2025, Albacete announced that Bayer 04 Leverkusen reached an agreement for the transfer of Kofane, paying a sum higher than his €5 million release clause. He signed a four-year contract with his new club. A month later, on 15 August, he recorded his first goal and assist in a 4–0 away win over Sonnenhof Großaspach in the DFB-Pokal. Later that year, on 1 October, he netted his first UEFA Champions League goal in a 1–1 draw with PSV Eindhoven. Hence, he became the club's youngest goalscorer in the European competition, aged 19 years and 67 days old. Three days later, he scored his first Bundesliga goal in a 2–0 win over Union Berlin.

International career

In September 2024, Kofane played unofficial friendly matches with the Cameroon national under-20 team. He received another call-up to the side in May 2025.

On December 1, 2025, he was called up for the first time to the Cameroon national team by David Pagou to compete in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 20 September 2026
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Europe Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Albacete 2024–25 Segunda División 20800—208
Bayer Leverkusen 2025–26 Bundesliga 29541111447
2026–27 Bundesliga 42111063
Total 337521215010
Career total 5315521217018
  1. ↑ Includes DFB-Pokal
  2. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  3. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 24 September 2026
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Cameroon 202521
202651
Total72
As of match played 4 January 2026
Cameroon score listed first, score column indicates score after each Kofane goal.
List of international goals scored by Christian Kofane
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 31 December 2025 Adrar Stadium, Agadir, Morocco  Mozambique 2–1 2–1 2025 Africa Cup of Nations
2 4 January 2026 Al Medina Stadium, Rabat, Morocco  South Africa 2–0 2–1 2025 Africa Cup of Nations

References

  1. ↑ Silas, Don (4 September 2024). "'My mother is from France' - Kofane on why he snubbed France". Daily Post. Lagos, Nigeria. Archived from the original on 10 September 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  2. ↑ "Acuerdo con L'association sportive de Nylon de Camerún" [Agreement with Association Sportive de Nylon of Cameroon] (in Spanish). Albacete Balompié. 10 December 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  3. ↑ "Christian Kofane, el goleador que debuta hoy como titular en el Albacete" [Christian Kofane, the goalscorer who debuts today as a starter at Albacete] (in Spanish). 5 Más el Descuento. 11 January 2025. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  4. ↑ "Kofane, la estrella africana que encandila a los técnicos del Albacete Balompié" [Kofane, the African star who dazzles Albacete Balompié's coaches] (in Spanish). 5 Más el Descuento. 9 January 2025. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  5. ↑ "¡GOOOOOOOL de Kofane, gooooool del Albacete! ¡El camerunés debuta y hoy ha marcado a los 2 minutos!" [GOAL from Kofane, goal of Albacete! The Cameroonian debuts and today has scored in the 2nd minute!] (in Spanish). 5 Más el Descuento. 11 January 2025. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  6. ↑ "Kofane, del Juvenil al primer equipo y gol en dos minutos al ser titular con el Alba" [Kofane, from the Juvenil to the first team and a goal within two minutes by being a starter with Alba] (in Spanish). + que Alba. 11 January 2025. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  7. ↑ "Kofane, el nuevo ídolo de la afición del Alba está... en el punto de mira" [Kofane, the new idol of Alba's supporters is... on sight] (in Spanish). Marca. 13 January 2025. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  8. ↑ "Kofane, el futbolista que marcará el mercado en el Albacete" [Kofane, the footballer who will stir the market at Albacete] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 29 May 2025. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  9. ↑ "Acuerdo para el traspaso de Kofane al Bayer Leverkusen" [Agreement for the transfer of Kofane to Bayer Leverkusen] (in Spanish). Albacete Balompié. 11 July 2025. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  10. ↑ "Oficial: el Albacete cierra la venta de Kofane al Bayer Leverkusen" [Official: Albacete complete the transfer of Kofane to Bayer Leverkusen] (in Spanish). Marca. 11 July 2025. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  11. ↑ "Bayer 04 verpflichtet Sturmtalent Christian Kofane aus Albacete" [Bayer 04 signs talented striker Christian Kofane from Albacete] (in German). Bayer 04 Leverkusen. 11 July 2025. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  12. ↑ "4:0 bei Großaspach – Werkself behält im Pokal-Dauerregen den Durchblick" (in German). Bayer 04 Leverkusen. 15 August 2025.
  13. ↑ "1-1 against PSV - Werkself miss out on victory in first UCL home game". Bayer 04 Leverkusen. 1 October 2025.
  14. ↑ "Bayer Leverkusen trust in capable Christian Kofane". Bundesliga. 2 October 2025.
  15. ↑ "Kofane on target as Leverkusen beat Union for second straight win". Reuters. 4 October 2025.
  16. ↑ "Kofane, convocado con la Selección sub20 de Camerún" [Kofane, called up with the Cameroon national under-20 team] (in Spanish). Albacete Balompié. 22 May 2025. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  17. ↑ "André Onana et Vincent Aboubakar absents, Christian Kofane et Eric-Junior Dina Ebimbe appelés... La liste du Cameroun pour la CAN 2025". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 1 December 2025.
  18. ↑ Christian Kofane at Soccerway. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
  19. ↑ Christian Kofane at BDFutbol. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
  20. ↑ "Games played by Christian Kofane in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
  21. ↑ "Games played by Christian Kofane in 2025/2026". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  22. ↑ "Games played by Christian Kofane in 2026/2027". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 August 2026.