Background and career
Folarin Jerry Balogun (born July 3, 2001) is a professional soccer player who plays as a striker for Ligue 1 club Monaco and the United States national team. Balogun began his career at the Arsenal Academy, and was promoted to the first team in 2020. He appeared sparingly for the club, and went on loan to EFL Championship club Middlesbrough in 2022. In the following season, he made his breakthrough during a loan to Ligue 1 club Reims, where he scored 22 goals in his first season, the highest ever for an American in a top five European league. In August 2023, Balogun left Arsenal and signed for Monaco for €40 million ($43 million), where he was named the club's 2025–26 Player of the Season. Balogun represented both the United States and England at the youth international level. In May 2023, he decided to play for the U.S. senior national team. He made his debut in June 2023, winning the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League and scoring his first goal in the final.
Balogun was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Yoruba Nigerian parents. His parents were living in London, and visited New York when his mother was seven months pregnant with him. Airline staff did not allow her to board the family's return flight to London due to safety concerns over the advanced state of her pregnancy, and Balogun was subsequently born in New York. He returned to the United Kingdom with his parents when he was two months old and grew up in London.
Balogun joined Arsenal at the age of eight, after being scouted while playing for his previous Sunday League team, Aldersbrook. Before trialling with Arsenal, he had trialled with the club's North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur and nearly signed for them. In 2017, Balogun was an integral part of Trevor Bumstead's Arsenal U16 team that won the Liam Brady Cup, defeating Bayern Munich, Manchester United, and Juventus. He signed a professional contract in February 2019. In July 2020, after failing to agree to a new contract with Arsenal, he was linked with a transfer away from the club, including a proposed £8 million move to Brentford.
On October 29, 2020, Balogun made his senior debut in the Europa League, coming on as a substitute in the 74th minute, in a group stage match against Dundalk. On November 26, he scored his first senior goal, in a Europa League group stage match against Molde. On April 26, 2021, Balogun signed a new long-term contract with the club. On August 13, Balogun made his Premier League debut in a 2–0 loss against newly promoted Brentford. On January 12, 2022, he joined EFL Championship club Middlesbrough on a loan deal until the end of the season. On March 8, he scored his first goal for Boro in a 4–1 loss to Sheffield United, and later scored in back-to-back wins over Birmingham City and Peterborough United.
In August 2022, he moved on loan to French club Reims. Balogun scored on his debut for the club on August 7, a 4–1 defeat to Marseille; fellow Arsenal loanee Nuno Tavares, also on his debut, scored for Marseille in the match. On January 29, 2023, Balogun scored a late goal in stoppage time to seal a 1–1 draw away to league leaders Paris Saint-Germain. It was his eleventh goal in Ligue 1 during the season, the most of any player aged 21 or under in Europe's top five leagues. Three days later, Balogun scored his first senior hat-trick in a 4–2 win over Lorient, his fourteenth goal of the season in Ligue 1. This made him the top scorer in Ligue 1 at that time. He finished the season with 21 goals, the fourth top scorer in the league. Upon his return to Arsenal for the 2023–24 season, Balogun stated he would not leave the club again on loan. In August 2023, he was reported to have attracted interest from Chelsea, Inter Milan, and Monaco.
On August 30, 2023, Ligue 1 side Monaco announced the signing of Balogun on a five-year contract, for a reported fee of €30 million, which could rise to €40 million with add-ons. On September 2, he played his first match for Monaco, coming on against Lens. During the match, he picked up his first yellow card for simulation after trying to win a penalty. On September 17, he scored his first league goal for Monaco, three minutes after coming off the bench in a 2–2 draw to Lorient. On September 22, he had his first start at the club, in which he missed two penalties in a 1–0 defeat against Nice. In the 2024–25 season, Balogun suffered a series of injuries which sidelined him most of the season. On May 3, 2025, he scored on his first start back from injury, a 3–1 win over Saint-Étienne. On November 4, 2025, he scored his first Champions League goal, securing a 1–0 away win over Bodø/Glimt. On February 17 in the Champions League, Balogun scored a first-half brace against Paris Saint-Germain, though Monaco would ultimately lose 2–3. One month later on March 6, he recorded another goal and assist against PSG, with Monaco winning 3–1 in the league matchup. Dating back to February 21, he scored in eight consecutive league games (including 10 goal contributions in his last 10 club games). This tied with the 2025–26 top five European league season record goalscoring streak shared only by Kylian Mbappé at Real Madrid (eight goals). Balogun's streak was also one goal away from the 21st-century Ligue 1 goalscoring streak record. Balogun finished the 2025–26 season as Monaco's top scorer with 19 goals and four assists in all competitions, and the league's fourth top scorer with 13 goals. For his season performances, he was named the 2025–26 Monaco Player of the Season. In August 2026, Premier League club Everton made a transfer bid for Balogun. On August 31, Balogun agreed to the transfer for a reported fee of €45 million (£38.58m; $52.3m) with €5 million (£4.3m; $5.8m) in add-ons. However, on transfer deadline day, complications arose with his medical. Despite Everton renegotiating the terms and being granted a two-hour 'grace period', Balogun ultimately rejected the move and opted to remain with Monaco.
