El Hadji Ba

El Hadji Ba (born 5 March 1993) is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Spanish club Linense. Born in France, he plays for the Mauritania national team.

El Hadji Ba

Ba in training with Lens in 2018
Personal information
Full name	El Hadji Ba[1]
Date of birth	(1993-03-05) 5 March 1993 (age 32)
Place of birth	Paris, France
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s)	Central midfielder
Team information
Current team	Linense
Youth career
1999–2007	Aulnay
2007–2011	Le Havre
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2011–2013	Le Havre	13	(1)
2013–2015	Sunderland	1	(0)
2014–2015	→ Bastia (loan)	7	(0)
2015	→ Bastia B (loan)	3	(0)
2015–2017	Charlton Athletic	25	(0)
2017	Stabæk	11	(0)
2017–2018	Sochaux	21	(0)
2018–2019	Lens	30	(0)
2019–2020	Guingamp B	3	(0)
2019–2022	Guingamp	48	(2)
2022–2023	Apollon Limassol	3	(0)
2023–	Linense	0	(0)
International career‡
2010–2011	France U18	6	(0)
2012	France U19	8	(0)
2012–2013	France U20	5	(0)
2022–	Mauritania	4	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 3 May 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 3 March 2024

Career

Ba made his professional debut on 24 February 2012 in a league match against Guingamp appearing as a substitute.^[3] Prior to making his debut with Le Havre, he was linked with a move to English club Tottenham Hotspur and reportedly had agreed to join the club.^[4]

On 10 July 2013, Ba joined Sunderland on a three-year contract after his Le Havre contract expired.^[5] He made his debut for Sunderland against Carlisle United in the FA Cup on 5 January 2014, and went on to score the third goal in a 3–1 victory.^[6]

On 7 August 2014, he joined Bastia on a season-long loan.^[7]

On 29 June 2015, Ba joined Charlton Athletic on a three-year deal, therefore ending his two-year spell with Sunderland.^[8] His contract with the club was terminated on 1 February 2017.^[9]

On 6 March 2017, Ba joined the Norwegian team Stabæk.^[10]

On 23 June 2022, Ba agreed to join Apollon Limassol in Cyprus.^[11]

International career

Born in France, Ba's parents hail from Senegal and Mauritania.^[12] He was a French youth international, having represented his nation at under-18 level.^[4]

In 2022, he received his first invitation to represent Mauritania. He debuted with Mauritania in a 3–0 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification win over Sudan on 4 June 2022.^[13]

Career statistics

As of match played 3 July 2023

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Le Havre	2011–12	Ligue 2	1	0	—		—		—		—		1	0
	2012–13		12	1	3	1	0	0	—		—		15	2
	Total		13	1	3	1	0	0	—		—		16	2
Sunderland	2013–14	Premier League	1	0	2	1	0	0	—		—		3	1
Bastia (loan)	2014–15	Ligue 1	7	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		7	0
Charlton Athletic	2015–16	Championship	25	0	0	0	3	0	—		—		28	0
Stabæk	2017	Eliteserien	11	0	1	1	—		—		—		12	1
Sochaux	2017–18	Ligue 2	21	0	3	0	1	0	—		—		25	0
Lens	2018–19		30	0	1	0	1	1	—		—		32	1
Guingamp	2019–20		7	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		7	0
	2020–21		15	0	1	0	0	0	—		—		16	0
	2021–22		26	2	3	0	0	0	—		—		29	2
	Total		48	2	4	0	0	0	—		—		52	2
Apollon Limassol	2022–23	Cypriot First Division	3	0	0	0	—		4	0	1	0	8	0
Career total			159	3	14	1	5	1	4	0	1	0	183	7