Raphaël Messi Bouli


Raphaël Éric Messi Bouli is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters.

Club career

Bouli started his career in Cameroon with FAP Yaoundé in 2013. A year later, he signed for Canon Yaoundé where he remained for the 2014 and 2015 Elite One seasons. 2016 saw Bouli join APEJES, with whom he won the 2016 Cameroonian Cup with. In 2017, Bouli scored fourteen goals in twenty-four league fixtures. On 1 March 2018, Bouli joined China League One side Yanbian Funde. He made his debut against Nei Mongol Zhongyou on 1 April, prior to netting in back-to-back matches in May versus Qingdao Huanghai and Zhejiang Greentown respectively. Bouli moved to Iran to play for Foolad of the Persian Gulf Pro League in 2019.
Bouli departed Foolad in June 2019, after scoring one goal in twelve games for the Iranian club. In the months following his departure, Bouli threatened to complain to FIFA, along with then-manager Afshin Ghotbi and former teammate Takafumi Akahoshi, regarding unpaid wages. On 24 August, Bouli completed a move to India with Super League team Kerala Blasters.

International career

Bouli made his international debut on 10 August 2013, playing in a 2014 African Nations Championship qualifier with Gabon. Years later, he scored his first goal in 2018 African Nations Championship qualifying in a game with São Tomé and Príncipe. In November 2017, Bouli was selected by the national team for a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Zambia. However, he failed to feature after remaining on the bench for a 2–2 draw. Months later, Bouli was called up to the squad for the 2018 African Nations Championship in Morocco. He featured in matches against Congo, Angola and Burkina Faso as Cameroon were eliminated at the group stages.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

No.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
119 August 2017Limbe Stadium, Limbe, Cameroon12–02–02018 African Nations Championship qualification

Honours

;APEJES