Mathieu Assou-Ekotto


Mathieu Assou-Ekotto is a French retired footballer who played mainly as a midfielder.
Over the course of nine seasons, he amassed Belgian Pro League totals of 132 games and two goals, mainly in representation of Mouscron.

Football career

Born in Sainte-Catherine, Pas-de-Calais, Assou-Ekotto spent nine years with local RC Lens all levels comprised but played mainly for the reserves during his spell, only appearing in three Ligue 1 games with the club. Released in the 1998 summer, he moved to Belgium and joined R.E. Mouscron.
In the 2000 off-season, Assou-Ekotto returned to France and played for three teams in three-and-a-half seasons, competing in the second, third and fourth divisions. On 19 January 2004 he moved back to Belgium and its Pro League, signing with R.A.A. Louviéroise.
Assou-Ekotto contributed with 11 matches in the first half of the 2005–06 campaign to Standard Liège's runner-up position, before joining Willem II from the Netherlands in the following winter transfer window. In yet another January move, he signed for former club Mouscron – first joining on loan – going on to play with the Hainaut side until they folded in December 2009.
The following February, Assou-Ekotto resumed his career at Boussu Dour Borinage in the Belgian Second Division. He left by mutual consent in January 2012, returning days later.

Personal life

Assou-Ekotto's younger brother, Benoît, was also a footballer. A defender, he too started his career at Lens, going on to spend several years in the Premier League with Tottenham Hotspur, and represented their ancestral Cameroon at international level.