Background and career
Joel Nathaniel Campbell Samuels (Spanish pronunciation: [ɟʝoˈel ˈkambel]; born 26 June 1992) is a Costa Rican professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for Liga FPD club Inter de San Carlos and the Costa Rica national team. Campbell joined Arsenal in 2011 and was thereafter loaned out to French side Lorient, Spanish club Real Betis and Greek outfit Olympiacos. He made his competitive Arsenal debut as the club won the 2014 FA Community Shield. He was again sent on loan to La Liga team Villarreal before he scored his first Arsenal goal in 2015. Campbell has so far earned over 140 caps for Costa Rica and was a member of the squad which won the 2014 Copa Centroamericana. He was also part of the Costa Rican side which reached the last eight of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and played in the 2018 and 2022 editions as well. Campbell additionally helped Costa Rica get to the quarter-finals of the 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cups, as well as the semi-finals of the 2017 Gold Cup.
Campbell's career began with Saprissa in 2009 before being sent on loan to Puntarenas in January 2011. On 28 July 2011, Costa Rican television reported that Campbell had come to an agreement with Arsenal, after having been discovered by club scout Danny Karbassiyoon. Campbell later said that while he had not yet signed, talks were taking place. On 6 August, Costa Rican media reported that Campbell was set to sign a five-year deal with Arsenal, after rejecting moves to Sevilla and Fiorentina. According to Campbell, he was also approached by Manchester United's Alex Ferguson, who wanted to bring him under Ryan Giggs' mentorship.
On 19 August 2011, Arsenal confirmed that they had signed Campbell, but it was reported eight days later that he had failed to obtain a work permit to enable him to play in England. Campbell finally received that permit in July 2013.
Unable to get a work permit in England, Campbell along with Gilles Sunu both joined French club Lorient, with Campbell moving on loan and Sunu on a permanent transfer. He made his debut for Lorient as a 79th-minute substitute for Grégory Bourillon in the 1–1 draw away to Sochaux, and created the assist for Innocent Emeghara to score and earn Lorient an away point. On 1 October, he scored his first goal for Lorient against Valenciennes in the 2–0 win, Campbell's right-footed shot found the bottom left hand corner of the goal. On 26 October, Campbell scored his second goal for Lorient in a Coupe de la Ligue match against Montpellier. He scored his third goal also against Montpellier in a 2–1 win which proved to be the winner.
On 6 July 2012, Campbell joined La Liga side Real Betis on a season-long loan. He made his debut on 25 August, coming on as a substitute for Salvador Agra to play the last 20 minutes in their 2–1 home defeat to Rayo Vallecano. Campbell played 28 league matches and scored two goals; his first was on 2 December, to give Betis a 3–2 away win against Deportivo de La Coruña, and his second came in the seventh minute of a 2–0 home victory against Levante on 13 January.
By summer 2013, Campbell had been granted a work permit in England but he joined Greek side Olympiacos on another one-year loan. On 27 October 2013, Campbell starred in Olympiacos' win over OFI, picking up four assists to help his side win 5–1. Campbell impressed again on 10 November, scoring once and earning two assists as Olympiacos thrashed PAOK 4–0. On 25 February 2014, Campbell scored the second goal Olympiacos' 2–0 win over Manchester United in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League. Olympiacos, however, did not proceed to the next round, after losing 3–0 in the second leg.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
