Sochaux Born in
Vitry-sur-Seine,
Val-de-Marne, France, Bakambu began his career at local
Ivry at the age of 10 before transferring to
Sochaux four years later. He had previously scored a double in the team's 4–3 aggregate semi-final victory over
Metz. Bakambu made his professional debut on 7 August 2010 in Sochaux's opening match of the
Ligue 1 season against
Arles-Avignon, appearing as an 83rd-minute substitute for
Modibo Maïga in a 2–1 win at the
Stade Auguste Bonal. The following month, he signed his first professional contract agreeing to a three-year deal with the club until June 2013. On 17 September 2011, Bakambu scored his first professional goal, the first equaliser in a 2–2 draw at
Lille OSC, eleven minutes after replacing
Carlāo. A year and nine days later, as a 66th-minute replacement for
King Osanga, he scored twice in a 3–2 extra-time home win over
Evian in the third round of the
Coupe de la Ligue. Bakambu scored seven goals in 31 appearances over the
2013–14 Ligue 1 season, in which Sochaux were relegated; this included two on 21 December in a 2–1 home win over
Rennes. Across the campaign, he was placed on the right wing by manager
Hervé Renard until he would become sufficiently mentally mature for a centre-forward role. On 23 March, he was sent off for handball in a 2–1 loss at
Saint-Étienne.
Bursaspor On 1 September 2014, Bakambu left France for the first time, moving on a four-year transfer to Turkey's
Bursaspor for a fee of €1.8 million and an annual salary of €800,000. He made his debut in the
Süper Lig twelve days later, replacing
Ozan İpek in the 55th minute of a 2–1 win at
Gençlerbirliği. His first goals for the "Green Crocodiles" came on 19 October, in either half of a 2–2 draw against
Eskişehirspor at the
Bursa Atatürk Stadium, and six days later he scored a first professional
hat-trick in a 5–0 win at
Balıkesirspor. He finished
his only league season in
Bursa with 13 goals in 27 games. In
that season's
domestic cup, Bakambu was the top scorer with eight goals in 12 games as his team reached the final before a 3–2 home loss to
Galatasaray. This tally included trebles in a 5–0 win at
Mersin İdmanyurdu on 27 January and a 3–0 victory over
Fatih Karagümrük nine days later, both in the group stage. As Galatasaray won the
double, Bursaspor faced them in the
2015 Turkish Super Cup on 8 August, with Bakambu playing the whole of the 1–0 loss.
Villarreal On 19 August 2015, Spanish side
Villarreal announced the signing of Bakambu on a five-year contract. He made his
La Liga debut four days later, replacing
Léo Baptistão in the 61st minute of a 1–1 draw at
Real Betis in the first game of
the season; on the 28th he came on for the same player and scored two goals in the closing minutes of the fixture against
Espanyol at
Estadio El Madrigal, to secure a 3–1 victory for the "Yellow Submarine". Bakambu played his first game in European competition on 17 September, again as a substitute in a 2–1 loss at
Rapid Wien in the
group stage of
that season's
UEFA Europa League. On 22 October, he scored his first goals in the tournament, a first-half double in a 4–0 home win over
Dinamo Minsk; he added another two the following 10 March against
Bayer Leverkusen in the
first leg of the last 16 (2–0 win, same aggregate). In the quarter-finals, he scored twice in each leg of a 6–3 aggregate win over
Sparta Prague. He was one of four strikers named in the competition's Squad of the Season, On 1 October 2017, Bakambu scored a hat-trick in a 3–0 home win over
Eibar. He then scored two goals in a 2–1 win at
Girona and another in a 4–0 win over
Las Palmas to be named
La Liga Player of the Month, the first African to win the award. In early January 2018, Villarreal manager
Javier Calleja revealed that Bakambu was going through a transfer to
Beijing Sinobo Guoan of the
Chinese Super League. On 17 January 2018, Bakambu rescinded his contract with Villarreal. Two weeks later, however, Beijing Guoan still had not announced the signing of Bakambu, who had already played and scored for the club. It was reported that Beijing Guoan were trying to avoid paying a 100 percent tax placed on incoming transfers worth over 45 million yuan (US$7 million) by the
Chinese Football Association. The transfer went through in time for the start of the Chinese season with the full fees being paid.
Beijing Guoan On 28 February 2018, the final day of the Chinese transfer window, Bakambu's protracted transfer from Villarreal to Beijing Sinobo Guoan was finally confirmed with the club paid his €40 million release clause, but Beijing did not announce the Congolese forward's signing amid confusion over whether they had to pay a 100 per cent levy on the transfer. He scored his first goal in China in his second game, in a 2–1 win over
Jiangsu Suning. He won the
Chinese FA Cup in his first season.
Marseille On 13 January 2022, Bakambu signed for French club
Marseille on a contract until 30 June 2024. He scored in his first appearance for the club, after coming on as a substitute in a 2-0 win over
Lens.
Olympiacos On 16 September 2022, Bakambu signed for Greek club
Olympiacos on a contract until 30 June 2025.
Al-Nasr On 29 June 2023,
UAE Pro League club
Al-Nasr announced that Bakambu had signed a two-year contract with the club.
Galatasaray On 22 July 2023, it was announced by Turkish club
Galatasaray that negotiations with its club
Al-Nasr for an agreement were started. A day later, Bakambu transferred to Süper Lig club Galatasaray on a permanent basis. He signed a two-year contract for a €700,000 fee. On 2 August, he made his debut in a
Champions League qualifying match against
Žalgiris Vilnius. On 8 November, he scored his first Champions League goal in the 93rd minute of stoppage time in a 2–1 away defeat against
Bayern Munich.
Betis On 1 February 2024, Bakambu signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with
Real Betis. == International career ==