Kevin-Prince Boateng

At 37 years old, Kevin-Prince Boateng has this physical status:

Kevin-Prince Boateng (born 6 March 1987) is a professional footballer who plays for Fiorentina, Italy's highest level. Boateng, a midfielder who can also play as a forward, is known for his agility, footspeed, and ball-juggling skills.

Boateng was described as "blessed with strength, speed, killer instinct in front of goal, and an unusual flamboyance in the attacking third in a 2014 report by FIFA's official website. "Bobeng has played for many clubs in Germany and Italy throughout his career, as well as stints in England and Spain." Born in Germany, he served Germany at youth level, but he later represented Ghana 15 times between 2010 and 2014, scoring two goals, and the team competed in the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups.

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Club career

Boateng began his football career with the club Reinickendorfer Füchse in early 1994 at the age of six, before signing for Hertha BSC in July 1994 at the age of seven, the first time, when he was 20 years old.

Boateng played for Hertha BSC II for two seasons after he came from the Hertha feeder teams. In the 2005–06 season, he was promoted to the Hertha first team squad.

Boateng's first team appearance in the second round of the 2005–06 Bundesliga season began on August 13, 2005 at the Olympic Stadium, with a 2–0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in the second round.

In 2005, Boateng was given the Fritz Walter Bronze Medal Award in the Under-18 category. Boateng played in his first Bundesliga match against Borussia Mönchengladbach in the 14th round of the Bundesliga season.

Boateng was given the Fritz Walter Gold Medal in the Under-19 category on July 27, 2006.

Boateng agreed to a four-year contract with Tottenham Hotspur in July 2007, putting him ahead of UEFA Cup champions Sevilla. His playing time was limited, and he was loaned to Borussia Dortmund in January 2009 for the remainder of the season.

During his loan, he made ten Bundesliga appearances during his loan, but after a tough challenge and "no-nonsense flying kick" to the head of VfL Wolfsburg's Makoto Hasebe, he was forced to miss the final two matches of the season (DFB).

Dortmund were eager to sign Boateng permanently at the end of the season, but financial constraints prevented them from doing so.

Portsmouth, an English Premier League club, signed Boateng on a three-year deal in August 2009 for a reported fee of around £4 million. He scored his first goal for the club against Bolton Wanderers on September 12, 2009, and was named Portsmouth's joint Player of the Month. He played his first season at the club in 22 Premier League games as they were relegated amid financial turmoil.

Portsmouth played Chelsea in the FA Cup Final, which Chelsea won 1–0. In the 54th minute, Boateng's penalty for Portsmouth was saved in the 54th minute, four minutes before Didier Drogba scored Chelsea's winning goal. Michael Ballack, a Chelsea midfielder, strained Ballack's ankle and kept him out of the match, but the upcoming 2010 World Cup has been ruled out of him. Boateng said Ballack slapped him in the chest before this and that he apologised to Ballack specifically for the tackle that left him injured.

Boateng has been praised by the German media and the German national team players for supporting Ballack but not forsuing him to ignore his slap on the field. After he slapped striker Lukas Podolski in a German national football team training match the previous year, boateng also chastised him for covering Ballack.

Boateng completed his three-year loan with Genoa in August 2010 (as a result of Anthony Vanden Borre's transfer breaking through) and then joined AC Milan on loan, but the former club also fell-through). In the same transfer window as the previous one, the agreement became a co-ownership agreement worth €5.25 million. Milan purchased Boateng permanently from Genoa in June 2011 for €7 million on a four-year contract, which came to an end in June 2015.

Boateng came on as a half-time replacement against Lecce on October 23, 2011, scoring three goals in 14 minutes. Milan had been 3–0 down at halftime but went on to win the game 4–3. Since being drafted as a replacement, Boateng is the second player in Serie A to score a hat-trick. David Trezeguet's hat-trick for Juventus in 2001 was the fastest in Serie A after the hat-trick.

On January 3, 2013, Milan was playing Pro Patria, an Italian Lega Pro 2 team, when Boateng and several other Milan players became the object of racial chanting from a portion of the Pro Patria crowd. Boateng responded by kicking the ball into the stands before leaving the pitch, and his teammates followed him. The match was then called off. Many players and commentators backed his decision to walk off the field later.

In the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg, Boateng scored the first goal for Milan against Barcelona in the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg, which Milan defeated 2–0. He was quoted as saying he had changed his style since joining Milan, from playing mainly as a defensive midfielder to taking on the role of trequartista.

Boateng had been sold to Schalke 04, a German Bundesliga club, on a four-year deal, which was due to end in June 2017.

In a 2–0 win over Bayer Leverkusen, Boateng made his debut for Schalke 04 on his first visit. In a 1–0 victory over Mainz 05 on September 14, he scored the winning goal for Schalke 04 on Sunday. Fans named Boateng as the Schalke 04 player of the month for October 2013. Boateng scored two goals against Werder Bremen on September 9, 2013; Schalke 04 defeated Schalke 04 3–1. Boateng finished third in third place after seven goals over the season.

Boateng, alongside Sidney Sam and Marco Höger, was banned indefinitely from the club in the aftermath of a loss to 1. FC Köln emerged as a result of poor play that was said to have contributed to the club's poor domestic results.

On December 8, 2015, his Schalke deal was ended.

Boateng re-joined Milan on January 5, 2016, after Schalke 04's December 2015 work ended, and the team has signed a six-month contract. Since being suspended in September 2015, he was training with Milan. In his first match back at San Siro, he scored his first goal on his first match back at the San Siro, scoring 36 minutes against Roma in a 1–1 draw and winning in 2–0.

Boateng's departure, as well as those of Alex, Philippe Mexès, and Mario Balotelli, were announced on May 25th, 2016.

Following Fernando's release from Milan, Las Palmas, a Spanish La Liga club, reported on August 2nd that they had reached an agreement with Boateng for his signature. He made his debut against Valencia at the Mestalla Stadium on August 22, 2016. Boateng scored a goal against Villarreal on October 24th, which was deemed by some analysts as one of La Liga's best goals of the year.

Boateng had resigned by mutual consent by August 16, 2017, according to Las Palmas, citing "irreversible personal reasons" as the reason.

Boateng completed his move to Eintracht Frankfurt on a three-year contract, where he won the DFB-Pokal.

Boateng signed with Sassuolo on a three-year contract on July 5, 2018.

Boateng joined Spanish La Liga club Barcelona on January 21, 2019 on loan until the end of the 2018–19 season, with the club still having the option to sell him permanently for a €8 million transfer fee. Since Munir El Haddadi was sold to Sevilla, he had joined the Catalan side to act as a back up for Luis Suárez. Since being a kidna, he became the first Ghanaian to play for the club. In the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarter-finals, he made his club debut on January 23 in a 2–0 away loss to Sevilla.

Boateng completed his contract with ACF Fiorentina on July 30, 2019. On August 24, he made his club debut in the 2019-20 Serie A season's first game, replacing him as a replacement in the second half and scoring a goal in an eventual 4-3 home loss to Napoli.

Boateng joined Turkish Süper Lig club Beşiktaş on loan for the remainder of the 2019–20 season.

Boateng joined Monza's newly promoted Serie B team on a one-year deal, with the ability to extend for a further year. In a 1–2 loss to Chievo at home, he scored his first goal on October 24, 2020, converting a penalty. Boateng scored two headed goals in a league match against Virtus Entella on December 15, 2015, assisting Monza in beating 5–0.

Boateng returned to Hertha BSC on June 23, 2021.

International career

Boateng has a German passport and has competed for the German national youth team before. By viewers of a German Das Erste TV sports show, his long-distance goal for the under-19 team in a 2005 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship match against Greece – which Germany defeated 3–0 – was voted Goal of the Month for the first time.

Dieter Eilts, the team's head coach, had to decline him and other players due to a curfew that had been broken in the team's camp during the 2007 Toulon Tournament in France, according to Berliner Morgenpost. Boateng was called up by new coach Horst Hrubesch in February 2009 for the international match against the Republic of Ireland in Cork. In June 2009, Hrubesch selected Boateng in the preliminary U21 squad for the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship in Sweden.

Boateng told the German authorities in June 2009 that he was no longer interested in representing Germany.

Boateng obtained a Ghanai passport and changed his allegiance to Ghana in May 2010; he has stated that he is more Ghanaian. "The Black Stars" was his first international football experience before beginning training at Accra Sports Stadium in Greater Accra, the same month as the 2010 World Cup. In June 2010, Boateng made his debut in a 1–0 victory over Latvia.

The Ghana Football Association had been in touch with Boateng in 2006, when he was representing the Ghana against the country ahead of the 2006 World Cup. However, the procedure under which FIFA had to decide on his eligibility would take long, as Boateng was under the old FIFA rules, where old youth internationals could change allegiance. Boateng's decision to change his allegiance in 2009 had him change his allegiance, but time was running out as his eligibility to represent the Black Stars had yet to arrive at the Black Stars at the start of May 2010.

Boateng was selected by head coach Milovan Rajevac to replace injured Michael Essien alongside defensive midfielder Anthony Annan for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. He was selected to start with Ghana's match against Germany on June 23rd, his brother Jérôme Boateng was included in the team. Ghana defeated Germany by a 60th-minute lone goal and 1–0 victory. It was the first time that both brothers competed against each other at the World Cup. In the fourth minute of a 2–1 win over the United States in Rustenburg's Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace on June 26, Boateng picked up the ball from the half-way line, dragged it "rapidly bamboozling" his opponents before scoring with a left-footed shot from outside the penalty area.

Boateng announced his international retirement in November 2011, blaming exhaustion from travel at the age of 24 years, effectively ending his chances of competing in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. Boateng's Ghanaian striker and close friend André Ayew announced in September 2012 that he was considering reversing his decision to retire but not in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.

Boateng was selected for Ghana's 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification play-offs against Egypt on October 1, 2013. As the Black Stars secured qualification for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, he appeared in 79th-minute substitute in the second leg and scored Ghana's only goal in the 89th minute.

Boateng was selected in Ghana's World Cup squad on June 2nd, 2014. In the team's first match, he served as a second-half substitute against the United States in a 2–1 loss. He was then selected to start against Germany in a 2–2 draw, playing against his brother once more.

Boateng was dismissed from the Ghana squad for discipline reasons just hours before the final group match against Portugal was scheduled, after he was found to have verbally assaulted former manager James Kwesi Appiah at a team meeting on June 26th. Boateng was sent home with midfielder Sulley Muntari. Boateng had fired back at the Ghana Football Association on June 29, describing the Black Stars' association during the tournament as "amateurish."

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