What happened to ex Newcastle striker Demba Ba and where is he now?

DEMBA Ba played for three Premier League clubs and was a proven goal scorer in England’s top flight.

Here, we look at his football career, and where he is now after retiring.

Who did Demba Ba play for?

Demba Ba is a Senegalese former professional footballer who played as a striker.

Ba’s first stint in the Premier League was for West Ham, joining in January 2011 with the Hammers struggling against relegation.

He scored seven goals in 12 league appearances for the club, including braces away at West Brom and Wigan, but he could not prevent them from the drop.

Due to a clause in his contract, he was allowed to leave on a free at the end of the season.

Newcastle ended up signing Ba on a free transfer in 2011, and he quickly made a name for himself as a deadly finisher.

Hattricks at home to Blackburn and away to Stoke helped Ba to eight goals in his first 11 league appearances for the club.

He scored home and away against Manchester United that season, including a spectacular finish in a 3-0 at St James Park in January 2012.

Ba helped Newcastle to an impressive fifth place finish, their highest since 2004.

The following season saw Ba continue his good scoring form, with 13 league goals in just 20 league games.

Ba moved to Chelsea in January 2013 for a fee of £7million.

He scored two goals on his debut in a 5-1 win against Southampton at St Mary’s in the FA Cup.

He then scored his first league goal for the club against the same opponents at Stamford Bridge, this time a 2-2 draw.

Ba scored a stunning acrobatic in the FA Cup quarter final replay against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge, helping the Blues to a 1-0 win.

He also scored a stunning goal, this time an overhead kick, in the 2013 semi final, but couldn’t prevent Chelsea from losing 2-1 to Manchester City at Wembley.

Chelsea won the 2013 Europa League after a 2-1 win against Benfica in the final, but Ba was not involved and didn’t receive a medal as he was cup-tied, having played for Newcastle earlier in the tournament.

The following season saw the arrival of Jose Mourinho for a second spell as Chelsea manager, and Ba struggled for game time.

However, he did chip in with a number of vital goals during the 2013/14 season.

This included a vital late winner against Paris Saint-Germain at Stamford Bridge that sent Chelsea through to the Champions League semi final on away goals, as well as a goal against Anfield against Liverpool, best remembered for the Steven Gerrard slip beforehand.

Ba wanted to stay at Chelsea, but the arrival of star striker Diego Costa signalled the end of his time at Stamford Bridge.

What happened to Demba Ba?

Ba joined Turkish side Besiktas for the 2014/15 season.

He came close to scoring against Arsenal with a spectacular effort during the Champions League qualifiers, with his attempt from the halfway line tipped onto the bar by Wojciech Szczesny.

He was able score 18 league goals in his first season, but was soon on the move again, this time to Shanghai Shenhua in China.

Ba suffered a broken leg during his second season with the club, which some suggested could have ended his professional career.

Nevertheless, his surgery was successful and he returned to competitive action.

Ba re-joined Besiktas on loan in January 2017, helping them to win the league title.

After a short spell with Turkish club Goztepe S.K. in 2018, he returned to Shanghai.

After returning to Turkey once again, this time with Istanbul Basaksehir, Ba won the second Turkish league title of his career, scoring 13 league goals as the team pipped Trabzonspor to the post by four points.

His second season saw him score only five league goals, but he did score a famous goal in the Champions League, in a 2-1 win against Manchester United.

Ba joined FC Lugano in the Swiss Super League, but retired in September 2021 after playing just three times for the club.

Where is Demba Ba now?

Since retiring, Ba has worked as chairman of North American football team Albion San Diego.

He was previously part owner of San Diego 1904, a team he founded with other footballers such as Eden Hazard.

This team merged with Albion San Diego after they lost a major source of financing during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2021, he was asked by Ralf Rangnick to join him on the coaching staff at Manchester United, during his interim spell in charge there.

However, his Visa was not accepted and he was not able to join.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk