Bernard Tekpetey

Bernard Tekpetey (born 3 September 1997) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Bulgarian First League club Ludogorets Razgrad.

Bernard Tekpetey

Tekpetey in 2017
Personal information
Date of birth	(1997-09-03) 3 September 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth	Accra, Ghana
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Ludogorets Razgrad
Number	37
Youth career
2012–2016	UniStar Soccer Academy
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016	Schalke 04 II	16	(4)
2016–2018	Schalke 04	2	(0)
2017	→ SCR Altach (loan)	10	(1)
2018–2019	SC Paderborn	32	(10)
2019–2021	Schalke 04	0	(0)
2019–2020	→ Fortuna Düsseldorf (loan)	9	(0)
2020–2021	→ Ludogorets Razgrad (loan)	25	(2)
2021–	Ludogorets Razgrad	83	(29)
2025–	Ludogorets Razgrad II	1	(0)
International career‡
2017	Ghana	2	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 27 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 15 May 2024

Club career

Having successfully undergone a trial period, Schalke 04 signed Tekpetey was signed from Ghanaian second-tier side Unistar Soccer Academy in February 2016. He made his debut for the club on 24 November, starting in a 2–0 win over OGC Nice. He won a penalty, which was converted by Dennis Aogo for Schalke's second goal, before being sent off in the second-half after committing two bookable offences.^[1]

After a season-long loan to Ludogorets Razgrad, Tekpetey permanently joined the team on 29 June 2021.^[2] He established himself as an undisputed starter for the team, becoming a key player and a reliable goalscorer.^[3] In May 2024, Tekpetey was handed a four-match ban following a red card received in an ill-tempered match against CSKA Sofia, which saw him miss the remaining matches of the season.^[4] In August 2024, he suffered a broken foot in the first leg of the Champions League qualifying match against Azerbaijani team Qarabagh and after undergoing a successful operation in Austria, was expected to be sidelined until the end of 2024.^[5] Reportedly, at the time the player was close to finalizing a transfer to Parma, which fell through due to the incident.^[6] On 2 April 2025, Tekpetey returned to action after his recovery from injury, coming on as substitute during the second half of the Ludogorets reserve side's 2:0 win over Nesebar.^[7]

International career

Tekpetey was called up to the Ghana national team for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.^[8] He made his debut for Ghana in a 1–0 loss to Egypt on 25 January 2017.^[9]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played on 27 May 2025^[10]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		Europe		Total
		League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Schalke 04 II	2015–16	Regionalliga West	16	4	—		—		16	4
Schalke 04	2016–17	Bundesliga	2	0	0	0	1[a]	0	3	0
	2017–18	Bundesliga	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		2	0	0	0	1	0	3	0
SCR Altach (loan)	2017–18	Austrian Bundesliga	10	1	2	2	—		12	3
SC Paderborn	2018–19	2. Bundesliga	32	10	4	1	—		36	11
Fortuna Düsseldorf (loan)	2019–20	Bundesliga	9	0	1	0	—		10	0
Ludogorets Razgrad (loan)	2020–21	Bulgarian First League	25	2	3	2	9[b]	0	37	4
Ludogorets Razgrad	2021–22	Bulgarian First League	24	10	4	0	9[c]	0	37	10
	2022–23	Bulgarian First League	27	8	6	1	15[d]	1	48	10
	2023–24	Bulgarian First League	30	10	4	1	15[e]	4	49	15
	2024–25	Bulgarian First League	2	1	0	0	5[f]	2	7	3
	Ludogorets Total		108	31	17	4	53	7	178	42
Career total			177	46	24	7	54	7	255	60

1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
2. Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, seven appearances in UEFA Europa League
3. Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, four appearances in UEFA Europa League
4. Five appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, eight appearances in UEFA Europa League, two appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
5. Three appearances and two goals in UEFA Champions League, four appearances and two goals in UEFA Europa League, Eight appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
6. Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

As of 17 September 2017

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Ghana	2017	2	0
Total		2	0

Honours

Ludogorets Razgrad

• Bulgarian First League: (5) 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25
• Bulgarian Supercup: (4) 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
• Bulgarian Cup: (2) 2022–23, 2024–25

Individual

• Bulgarian football Best foreign player: 2022^[11]
• Bulgarian First League Goal of the Week: 2021–22^[12] (vs CSKA 1948)