Denis Bouanga

Denis Athanase Bouanga (born 11 November 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger and forward for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC. Born in France, he plays for the Gabon national team.

Bouanga began his career in France, making 136 Ligue 1 appearances for Lorient, Nîmes and Saint-Étienne and scoring 35 goals. In 2022, he signed for Los Angeles FC for a $5 million fee. In 2022, he helped the team win the Supporters' Shield and MLS Cup, while in 2023 he won the MLS Golden Boot.

Bouanga made his international debut for Gabon in 2017 and was selected for the Africa Cup of Nations in 2017 and 2021.

Lorient
Born in Le Mans, Bouanga played as a youth for Stade Olympique du Maine and for two years at Le Mans FC but was released after two years at the latter club. In 2013, he started his senior career in the sixth-tier Division d'Honneur for Mulsanne. He was the top scorer in the Ligue de Maine in 2013–14 with 26 goals, and was then signed by Ligue 1 club Lorient; manager Franck Haise signed his younger brother Didier Bouanga as well.

Bouanga made his professional debut on 28 October 2014 in the third round of the Coupe de la Ligue, playing the full 90 minutes of a 2–1 win at Evian. Four days later he made his one top-flight appearance of the season, the last eight minutes as a substitute for Raphaël Guerreiro in a 2–1 home loss to Paris Saint-Germain. On 29 August 2015, he scored his only Ligue 1 goal for Les Merlus, equalising in a 4–1 loss at Reims.

Bouanga was loaned to Strasbourg in the third-tier Championnat National on 3 January 2016, for the remainder of the season. He scored five goals, all in his first eight games, including two in a 3–0 win away to Alsace rivals Colmar on 11 March; Strasbourg ended the season as league champions.

In 2016–17, Bouanga was lent out again, this time to Tours in Ligue 2. He ranked third in the league with 16 goals. In July 2017, he signed a new deal at Lorient for four years; despite his rare opportunities at the club, he cited his upcoming fatherhood as a reason to commit to the club. Saint-Étienne and Valencia had tracked him after his season at Tours.

Representing Lorient in the 2017–18 Ligue 2 season, Bouanga scored nine goals in 34 games. On 24 April, he was sent off in a 1–0 loss at Nîmes for a dangerous tackle, as were teammate Ibrahima Conte and opponent Téji Savanier.

Nîmes and Saint-Étienne
In July 2018, Bouanga joined Nîmes in Ligue 1 on a three-year contract for a reported transfer fee of €3 million. A year later, having scored eight goals in his one season at Nîmes, he joined Saint-Étienne for €4.5 million on a four-year deal.

Bouanga scored 10 goals in 26 games in his first league season for ASSE, which was curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic. He also helped them to the Coupe de France final by scoring the only goal away to Monaco in the last 16, and one more goal in a 2–1 win in the next round at Épinal.

In Bouanga's final game for Saint-Étienne, a 2–1 loss to Dijon on the first day of the 2022–23 Ligue 2 season, he was sent off at the end for insulting the referee.

Los Angeles FC
On 5 August 2022, Bouanga was acquired by Los Angeles FC of Major League Soccer for a $5 million fee. On 2 October, he scored the match-winning goal in the 95th minute against Portland Timbers to win 2–1, clinching LAFC's second Supporters' Shield and his first trophy with the club. Eighteen days later, he netted twice in a 3–2 win at home to LA Galaxy in the Western Conference semi-finals of the MLS Cup playoffs. On 5 November, his team won MLS Cup 2022 by beating Philadelphia Union 3–0 on penalties after a 3–3 extra-time draw; he was among the penalty scorers.

In 2023, after scoring twice and tallying one assist in the club's 4–0 victory over New England Revolution, Bouanga was named to the league's Team of the Matchday for week three.

On 9 March 2023, Bouanga scored his first hat-trick of his career with a 3–0 victory at L.D. Alajuelense during the first leg in the two club's Round of 16 showdown in the CONCACAF Champions League. Just under a month later on 8 April 2023, Bouanga scored his second hat-trick of his career in a 3–0 win at home over Austin FC.

International career
Bouanga first received a call-up to the Gabon national team for a match against Mauritania on 28 May 2016. He made the final squad for Gabon for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.

International

 * Scores and results list Gabon's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bouanga goal.

Honours
Strasbourg
 * Championnat National: 2015–16

Saint-Étienne
 * Coupe de France runner-up: 2019–20

Los Angeles FC
 * MLS Cup: 2022
 * Supporters' Shield: 2022
 * CONCACAF Champions League runner-up: 2023

Gabon
 * King's Cup third place: 2018

Individual
 * CONCACAF Champions League Golden Boot: 2023
 * CONCACAF Champions League Best XI: 2023
 * MLS All-Star: 2023, 2024
 * MLS Best XI: 2023
 * MLS Golden Boot: 2023
 * MLS Player of the Month: October 2023