Background and career
Pierre-Emerick Emiliano François Aubameyang (born 18 June 1989) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Deportivo A Coruña. Born in France, he played for the Gabon national team. Considered one of the best strikers in the world at his peak, Aubameyang has scored over 400 goals in his career, is the all-time top scorer in the UEFA Europa League (34), and has the most goals in Europe's top five leagues for an African player, with over 250. He is also the highest-scoring African player in the history of the Bundesliga. Aubameyang began his senior club career after signing for AC Milan in Italy, but never made an appearance for the club, instead spending several loan spells in France. He transferred permanently to Saint-Étienne in 2011, where he won the 2012–13 Coupe de la Ligue. In summer 2013, he joined Borussia Dortmund, scoring 141 goals in four-and-a-half seasons. While in Germany, he collected the VDV Silver Boot, the Bundesliga's top goalscorer award, and won the DFB-Pokal. His 31 goals in the 2016–17 campaign also made him the first player in 40 years to score 30 goals in a Bundesliga season. In 2018, Aubameyang joined Arsenal for a then-club record fee of £56 million (€60 million). He went on to captain the club, helping them reach the 2019 Europa League final and win the FA Cup in 2020. Individually, he was awarded the Premier League Golden Boot in 2018–19 and was named in the 2020 PFA Team of the Year. After leaving Arsenal in 2022, he had spells with Barcelona and Chelsea before joining Marseille in 2023, where he was named in the Ligue 1 Team of the Year, while his performances in the Europa League earned him the competition's Player of the Season award. In 2024, he joined Saudi Pro League club Al-Qadsiah, spending one season there before returning to Marseille in 2025. After one season in France, he subsequently returned to Spain, joining Deportivo A Coruña. After playing once for the France under-21 team, Aubameyang switched to represent Gabon at international level, making his senior debut in 2009 at the age of 19; with 40 goals, he is the nation's all-time top scorer. He represented Gabon at six Africa Cup of Nations tournaments and the 2012 Summer Olympics. In 2015, he was named African Footballer of the Year; the first Gabonese and second European-born player to win the award.
Aubameyang joined AC Milan's youth academy in January 2007. In August, he was part of the squad that finished fourth in the inaugural Champions Youth Cup held in Malaysia, where he made a name for himself and attracted the attention of scouts internationally. He scored against every opponent Milan played, finishing with seven goals in six matches.
For the 2008–09 season, Aubameyang was loaned out to Dijon of Ligue 2 in France to gain first-team experience. His performances there led him to appear in World Soccer's Talent Scout section in the summer of 2009. He finished with a total of ten goals and two assists in all competitions, including two goals in a Coupe de France tie against Selongey.
On 24 June 2009, it was announced Ligue 1 club Lille had decided to sign Aubameyang on loan. Relative to his previous season, however, Aubameyang did not perform as well, scoring just two goals in 14 appearances, four as a starter.
For the 2010–11 season, Aubameyang was loaned for the season to Monaco. On 21 August 2010, he scored his first goal for Monaco in an away match against Lens, then scored again on 29 August at home to Auxerre, where Monaco won 2–0. In January 2011, after six months with the club, Aubameyang was loaned to Saint-Étienne until the end of the 2010–11 season, finishing the season with four goals and three assists. In July 2011, the loan was extended for the entire 2011–12 season.
On 22 December 2011, Aubameyang signed with Saint-Étienne on a permanent deal. He was quickly added to the starting lineup and was given the number 7 jersey. In February 2012, he scored his first hat-trick against Lorient. He became an integral part of the squad, scoring half of the team's away goals during the season, and went on to be Ligue 1's 4th top scorer having scored 16 goals behind Montpellier's Olivier Giroud with 21, PSG's Nenê with 21 too and Lille's Eden Hazard with 20. On 20 April 2013, Aubameyang was in the starting line-up for Saint-Étienne in the 2013 Coupe de la Ligue Final. Les Verts won the match 1–0 with a goal from Brandão to give Aubameyang his first major trophy as a professional footballer. He finished the season with 18 goals and seven assists in all competitions. In the 2012–13 season, Aubameyang ended second in the competition's top-goalscorers list, scoring 19 goals and finishing behind only Zlatan Ibrahimović. From his 37 appearances, he also provided eight assists. The season was widely regarded as his breakout year—he appeared in the Ligue 1 team of the season and he won the Ligue 1 African Player of the Year award.
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.
