Rennes Born in
Yaoundé, Mbia made his debut for the
Rennes first team during the 2005–06 season, going on to make a handful of appearances over the campaign. The Cameroonian scored his first
Ligue 1 goal in November 2006 against the incumbent French champions
Lyon. On 18 April 2007, Mbia was abused by Lyon player
Milan Baroš. This led to disciplinary action being taken against Baroš by the
French Football Federation, who banned the striker for three matches.
Marseille On 14 July 2009, Mbia completed his £10.4 million move to
Marseille from Rennes, going on to play a vital role in Marseille's victorious Ligue 1 campaign that season, starting off as a
defensive midfielder but later making the transition to the role of centre back alongside former
Charlton Athletic player
Souleymane Diawara. His redeployment at centre back was a success and he went on to play the rest of the season in this position, where he was considered to be one of the best performers in
Didier Deschamps' talented squad, as he formed a formidable defensive partnership with Diawara.
Queens Park Rangers On 31 August 2012 Mbia signed a two-year deal with English
Premier League club
Queens Park Rangers, signing for an undisclosed fee, with
Joey Barton heading in the opposite direction on a season-long loan. On 27 October 2012, Mbia was sent off seventeen minutes from the end of only his fourth league appearance for QPR, a 1–0 defeat to
Arsenal at the
Emirates Stadium. He was dismissed in the 79th minute for violent conduct after kicking Gunners defender
Thomas Vermaelen in retaliation to a strong challenge that had left Mbia floored. He received the standard three-match ban from the
FA, and became ineligible for QPR's league games against
Reading,
Stoke City and
Southampton. On 6 May 2013, Mbia tweeted to Joey Barton, asking him if he would like to switch seats with him at Marseille in hinting that he wanted to leave Queen Park Rangers after they were relegated from the Premier League. In July 2013 Mbia scored his first goal for the club in a pre-season friendly against
Southend United and expressed desire to stay at QPR.
Sevilla in 2015 On 26 August 2013, Mbia was loaned out to Spanish
La Liga club
Sevilla for the rest of the season. Mbia made his Sevilla debut on 1 September, providing an assist for
Kevin Gameiro's first goal in a 2–2 draw with
Málaga. On 27 October, Mbia provided assists for both
Ivan Rakitić and
Jairo Samperio as Sevilla overcame 10-man
Osasuna 2–1. His first goal in
La Liga came in the
Seville derby against
Real Betis on 24 November, heading in Sevilla's second goal in a 4–0 win. Mbia scored with a back-heel in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final against compatriots
Valencia on 24 April 2014 in a 2–0 home win. In the second leg on 1 May, he scored the winning away goal with a header in the fourth minute of added time to take Sevilla into
the final. Sevilla subsequently won the final in a shootout against
Benfica at the
Juventus Stadium in Turin on 14 May, with Mbia converting his penalty kick after the match had ended 0—0. On 3 June, Mbia was selected in the 18-man Europa League "Team of the Year" along with teammates
Ivan Rakitić,
Nicolás Pareja and
Beto. At the
LFP Awards, he was a nominee for the league's best African player, alongside the
Granada duo of
Yacine Brahimi and
Youssef El-Arabi. On 31 August 2014, Mbia rejoined Sevilla on permanent basis. He scored his first goal of the new season on 18 September, heading in a cross from
Gerard Deulofeu as Sevilla started the defense of their Europa League title with a 2–0 win over
Feyenoord. Mbia netted a brace as Sevilla earned a comfortable 4–1 victory over
Deportivo de La Coruña at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium on 5 October. On 27 May 2015, Mbia started for Sevilla in the
2015 UEFA Europa League Final defeat of
Dnipro at Poland's
National Stadium, thus retaining their
Europa League crown, and qualifying the team for
next season's Champions League.
Later career On 2 July 2015, Mbia joined
Trabzonspor on a free transfer, signing a three-year deal. On 29 January 2016, Mbia signed for
Chinese Super League club
Hebei China Fortune. In March 2018, he left the club by mutual consent. In August 2018, Mbia joined Ligue 1 side
Toulouse on a season-long contract. On 3 February 2019, Mbia returned to China to join top-flight newcomers
Wuhan Zall. A year later, he moved across the league to
Shanghai Greenland Shenhua. He left after one season to re-join Wuhan Zall, now renamed Wuhan F.C., and reunited with his former Sevilla team-mate
Daniel Carriço. On 31 August 2021, Mbia returned to Spain after six years, and joined
Fuenlabrada in the
Segunda División on a one-year deal. On 21 January, he left the club after alleging "personal problems". ==International career==