Reinickendorfer Füchse Boateng started his club career with the club
Reinickendorfer Füchse in early 1994 at age six prior to signing for
Hertha BSC on 1 July 1994, at the age of seven, first playing for them until 31 July 2007, when he was 20 years old.
Hertha BSC II After emerging from the Hertha feeder teams, Boateng played for
Hertha BSC II for two seasons. He was promoted to the Hertha first team squad in the
2005–06 season.
Hertha BSC Boateng made his first team debut in a 2–0 win against
Eintracht Frankfurt in the second round of the 2005–06 Bundesliga season on 13 August 2005, at the
Olympic Stadium, being brought on at the beginning of the second half. Boateng was awarded the
Fritz Walter Bronze Medal Award in the
Under-18 category in 2005.
Tottenham Hotspur Boateng signed a four-year
contract with
Tottenham Hotspur in July 2007 for a reported £5.4 million, securing him ahead of
UEFA Cup holders
Sevilla. His success at the club was limited, and he was
loaned to
Borussia Dortmund in January 2009 for the remainder of the season.
Borussia Dortmund (loan) He made ten Bundesliga appearances during his loan, but was forced to miss the final two matches of the season for a
suspension of four matches imposed by the
German Football Association (DFB) following a tough challenge and "no-nonsense
flying kick" to the head of
VfL Wolfsburg's
Makoto Hasebe.
Portsmouth in the
2010 FA Cup Final English
Premier League club
Portsmouth signed Boateng on a three-year contract in August 2009 for a reported fee of around £4 million. On 12 September 2009, he scored his first goal for the club against
Bolton Wanderers, and was named Portsmouth's joint Player of the Month. He finished his only season at the club with three goals in 22 Premier League games as they were relegated amidst financial disarray. In May 2010, Portsmouth played
Chelsea in the
FA Cup Final, which Chelsea won 1–0. Boateng had his
penalty for Portsmouth saved in the 54th minute, four minutes before
Didier Drogba scored Chelsea's winning goal. During the match, Boateng fouled Chelsea midfielder
Michael Ballack, injuring Ballack's ankle and ruling him out of the impending
2010 World Cup. Boateng claimed that Ballack slapped him in the face prior to this, and that he apologised to Ballack personally for the tackle which left him injured. Boateng called the German media and the
German national team players
hypocrites for backing Ballack while ignoring his slap on the pitch. Boateng also criticised
Joachim Löw for protecting Ballack after he slapped striker
Lukas Podolski in a Germany national football team training match the previous year. (a reported €5.7 million plus the transfer of
Anthony Vanden Borre, despite the latter deal falling-through) and then immediately joined
AC Milan on loan. The deal later became a
co-ownership deal in the same transfer window for €5.25 million. Milan signed Boateng permanently from Genoa in June 2011 for €7 million on a four-year contract due to expire in June 2015. On 23 October 2011, Boateng came on as a half-time
substitute against
Lecce and scored three goals in 14 minutes. Milan had been 3–0 down at half-time, but went on to win the game 4–3. Boateng is only the second player in the history of Serie A to score a
hat-trick after coming on as a substitute. The hat-trick was the fastest in Serie A since
David Trezeguet scored a ten-minute hat-trick for
Juventus in 2001. On 3 January 2013, Milan was playing Italian
Lega Pro 2 side
Pro Patria in a mid-season friendly when Boateng and several other Milan players were the targets of
racist chanting from a section of the Pro Patria crowd. Boateng reacted by kicking the ball into the stands before leaving the pitch, and was followed off by his teammates. The match was subsequently abandoned. His decision to walk off the pitch was later backed by various players and commentators. On 20 February, Boateng scored the opening goal for Milan against
Barcelona in the
2012–13 UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg, which Milan went on to win 2–0. In August 2013, he was quoted as saying he had changed his style since signing for Milan, from playing primarily as a
defensive midfielder to adopting the role of
trequartista.
Schalke 04 in 2015 On 30 August 2013, Milan announced that Boateng had been transferred to German Bundesliga club
Schalke 04 for a €10 million transfer fee on a four-year contract due to expire in June 2017. Boateng made his debut for Schalke 04 in a 2–0 victory against
Bayer Leverkusen. On 14 September 2013, he scored the winning goal for Schalke 04 in a 1–0 win over
Mainz 05. On 30 October 2013, Boateng was voted the Schalke 04 player of the month for October 2013 by fans. On 9 November 2013, Boateng scored two goals against
Werder Bremen; Schalke 04 won the match 3–1. Boateng scored seven Bundesliga goals
over the season as Schalke finished in third place. On 11 May 2015, Boateng, alongside
Sidney Sam and
Marco Höger, was suspended indefinitely from the club in the aftermath of a defeat against
1. FC Köln as a result of poor behaviour which claimed to have led to the club's poor domestic performances. His contract with Schalke was terminated on 8 December 2015.
Return to Milan As Schalke 04 terminated his contract in December 2015, Boateng re-joined Milan on 5 January 2016, on a
free transfer and signed a six-month contract. He was training with Milan since his suspension in September 2015. He made his official return debut on 9 January 2016, playing 36 minutes against
Roma in a 1–1 draw and scored his first goal in his first match back at the
San Siro six days later against
Fiorentina in a 2–0 win. On 25 May 2016, club owner
Silvio Berlusconi announced Boateng's departure, along with those of
Alex,
Philippe Mexès and
Mario Balotelli.
Las Palmas On 2 August 2016, Spanish
La Liga club
Las Palmas announced that they had reached an agreement with Boateng for his signature following his release from Milan. He made his debut on 22 August 2016, in a 4–2 away win against
Valencia at the
Mestalla Stadium. On 24 October Boateng scored a goal against
Villarreal which was regarded by some pundits as one of the best goals of La Liga that year. On 16 August 2017, Las Palmas announced that Boateng had cancelled his contract by the club by mutual consent, citing "irreversible personal reasons" for the decision.
Eintracht Frankfurt On 18 August 2017, Boateng completed his move to
Eintracht Frankfurt on a three-year deal, where he won the
DFB-Pokal.
Sassuolo On 5 July 2018, Boateng signed with
Sassuolo on a three-year deal.
Barcelona (loan) Boateng joined Spanish La Liga club Barcelona on 21 January 2019, on loan until the end of the
2018–19 season, with the club holding an option to sign him permanently for an €8 million transfer fee. He had joined the Catalan side to serve as a backup for
Luis Suárez after
Munir El Haddadi was sold to Sevilla. The transfer made him the first Ghanaian ever to represent the club. He made his club debut on 23 January, in a 2–0 away defeat to Sevilla in the first leg of the
Copa del Rey quarter-finals.
Fiorentina On 30 July 2019, Boateng signed with
ACF Fiorentina. He made his debut for the club on 24 August in the opening game of the
2019–20 Serie A season, coming on as a substitute in the second half and scoring a goal in an eventual 4–3 home loss to
Napoli.
Beşiktaş (loan) On 31 January 2020, Boateng joined Turkish
Süper Lig club
Beşiktaş on loan for the remainder of the 2019–20 season.
Monza On 28 September 2020, Boateng moved to newly promoted
Serie B side
Monza on a one-year contract, with the option to extend for a further year. He scored his first goal on 24 October 2020, converting a penalty in a 1–2 defeat to
Chievo at home. On 15 December 2020, Boateng scored two headed goals in a league game against
Virtus Entella, helping Monza win 5–0.
Return to Hertha BSC On 23 June 2021, Boateng returned to Hertha BSC. On 11 August 2023, he announced his retirement from playing. ==International career==