Early career Muntari's abilities first came to light in youth tournaments, while he was playing for
Liberty Professionals youth team. He became a regular member of
Ghana under-20 team at the age of 16 as they finished runners-up at the
2001 FIFA World Youth Championship in
Argentina, losing out to the
hosts in the final. Despite impressing during a trial with
Manchester United after the tournament, he ended up joining Italian club
Udinese.
Udinese He joined Udinese in 2001, where his first season was spent in the reserves. He made his first-team debut on 6 November 2002, against
Milan. In his
second full season, he made 23 appearances, and increased his standing to 33 appearances the
following season, although indiscipline saw him sent off three times in 16 matches in the
2006–07 season. He left Udinese for
Portsmouth after five seasons in Italy.
Portsmouth Muntari had already indicated a desire to move to the English
Premier League, when in early 2007 transfer bids were received from Portsmouth. He eventually opted for Portsmouth and transferred on 30 May 2007, for a new club record fee, believed to be around £7.1 million, signing a five-year contract. He was a regular member of the first XI throughout the
2007–08 season, playing 29 League matches and scoring four goals. He made his Premier league debut on the opening match-day on 11 August 2007 in Pompey's 2–2 away draw against
Derby County. On 29 September, Muntari scored his first goal and provided an assist in a thrilling
7–4 victory over
Reading. Muntari scored the seventh goal of the match from the penalty spot in stoppage time after
Kranjcar was fouled by
Rosenior. The scoreline set a record as the
highest scoring match in
Premier League history. His skill, tenacity and football ability were praised for his performance in this match. He scored against his Ghanaian compatriot
Richard Kingson, who was making his Premier League debut in goal for the Blues. His performance of note was away at
Aston Villa where he scored two spectacular long-range goals. He also played four
FA Cup matches, scoring the winner from the penalty spot in a 1–0 victory over Manchester United at
Old Trafford in the Sixth round of the
FA Cup. His winner led to their progress into the semi-finals. He was in the starting XI that won the
2008 FA Cup Final at
Wembley Stadium over
Cardiff City. He left
Fratton Park after one season to join
Internazionale.
Inter Milan On 2 March 2007, it was reported in the Italian press that Inter Milan were preparing a summer offer for the midfielder. Injuries to
Esteban Cambiasso and
Patrick Vieira underlined just how short of ball-winning midfielders the
Nerazzurri were, and they would be looking to remedy the problem in June 2007. Transfer consultants
Marco Branca and
Gabriele Oriali were looking around Europe for possible options and Muntari seemed to be their man at the insistence of coach
Roberto Mancini, although Muntari ultimately went to Portsmouth in the summer of 2007. On 21 July 2008, however, Italian newspaper
La Repubblica reported that with the probable failure of new Inter coach
José Mourinho to land his former
Chelsea midfielder
Frank Lampard, Muntari was now his top target central midfield target. The reports gathered pace in the Italian press in the next few days that Muntari had already agreed a four-year contract with Inter. In an interview in 2022, he revealed that he agreed to sign after Mourinho called him and asked if he wanted to play for him, to which he replied yes. But Portsmouth manager
Harry Redknapp told
Sky Sports News, "I don't want to sell him. He is one of my best players and is a terrific young talent" when quizzed about Inter's supposed interest in Muntari. On 24 July 2008, the
BBC and
Gazzetta dello Sport reported that Muntari would complete a €14 million plus bonuses move to Inter. He finally completed his move to Inter on 28 July 2008 and wore the number 20 jersey, previously worn by
Álvaro Recoba for many years.
2008–09 season On 24 August, Muntari made his competitive debut for Inter Milan in the club's victory over
Roma in the Italian Super Cup. He scored the first goal with the match ending in a 2–2 draw after extra time before Inter won the trophy on penalties. On 22 November 2008, Muntari scored the winner, redirecting a wayward
Zlatan Ibrahimović shot, in the ''
Derby d'Italia'' against rivals
Juventus. The victory was Inter's first victory over Juventus at San Siro after four years. Two weeks later, Muntari scored a backheel goal against
Napoli at the
San Siro after a great cross from
Maicon, a match that ended 2–1 for Inter. In the very last
Serie A match of the season, on 31 May 2009 against
Atalanta, he opened the scoring for Inter after blasting in a
Luís Figo cross from outside the penalty box. Later, his shot on goal was parried by the goalkeeper, but Esteban Cambiasso scored from the rebound to make the score 3–3. Inter eventually won 4–3 and Muntari won his first
Scudetto after his first season with the club.
2009–10 season Ahead of the
2009–10 season, Muntari was assigned the number 11 jersey. On 2 August 2009, Muntari featured for 84 minutes in the 2–1
2009 Supercoppa Italiana loss to
Lazio. On 23 August, on the opening match day of the season, he came on to play 29 minutes of their 1–1 draw to
Bari. He started his first Serie A match of the season, in their 2–1 victory over his former club
Udinese on 3 October 2009. On 24 October, Muntari scored his first goal of the season to help Inter Milan to a 2–1 victory over
Catania. On 16 April 2010, in their match against Juventus, he came on in the 89th minute for
Wesley Sneijder, and three minutes later he assisted
Samuel Eto'o to score Inter Milan's second goal, securing a 2–0 victory. The following match day, Muntari played the full 90 minutes and scored his second goal of the season after a shot from
Moussa Marega deflected off him, to help Inter Milan to a 3–1 win over
Atalanta. At the end of the season, Inter Milan retained the
Serie A title with Muntari playing a key role, playing 27 out of 38 matches, scoring 2 goals and providing two assists. He played in all of Inter Milan's
Coppa Italia matches that season, as the club won the competition for the sixth time in its history. He came on as a late substitute in the
final, which Inter Milan won 1–0 over AS Roma. During Inter Milan's first Champions League match of the season, Muntari started and played 62 minutes before taken off for
Dejan Stanković in their goalless draw against
Barcelona. Further on, in total, he played 9 matches out of 12 in their European berth as Inter Milan secured their third Champions League title after 45 years, since their second title in 1965. The title secured Inter Milan the first ever Italian
treble (
Serie A, the
Coppa Italia, and the
UEFA Champions League).
In the final, Muntari came on as a second-half substitute, after
Diego Milito had secured the title with two goals against
Bayern Munich at the
Santiago Bernabeu. He became the fourth Ghanaian to win the Champions League. Across all competitions that season, Muntari made 42 appearances and played a significant role in securing the treble. In a counter-interview, Benitez stated that he would meet with him to discuss the matter. On 29 October, he came on in the 19th minute for injured
Esteban Cambiasso to score 25-yard long range goal to secure a 1–0 away win against Genoa. Muntari won the
2010 FIFA Club World Cup with Inter after they defeated
TP Mazembe 3–0 in the
final. He was an unused substitute in the final however, he played 13 minutes of the 3–0 semi-final victory over
Seongnam FC. On 15 January 2011, Inter Technical Director Marco Branca confirmed Muntari had handed in an official transfer request. A number of Premier League clubs were speculated to be interested in Muntari.
Loan to Sunderland On 26 January 2011, Premier League club
Sunderland were given permission to hold talks with Muntari, and on 29 January, he signed for Sunderland on loan from Inter until the end of the 2010–11 season. On 7 May 2011, he was initially credited with his first and only goal in a 2–1 win over
Bolton Wanderers, but this was subsequently recorded as a
Zat Knight own goal. On 13 May 2011, Sunderland opted not to sign Muntari on a permanent basis, and he returned to Inter. He played the first half of the 2011–12 season for Inter Milan and played four league matches before going on loan to AC Milan.
AC Milan 2011–12 season (center) and
Traoré (far right) in 2012|200x200px On 31 January 2012, Muntari joined
AC Milan on loan. On 19 February 2012, Muntari scored his first goal as a Milan player on his debut, in a Serie A away match against
Cesena, which Milan won 3–1. On 25 February 2012, with Milan leading 1–0 against Juventus, Muntari appeared to have doubled Milan's lead with a header from a cross by
Urby Emanuelson, however the
goal was not given by referee
Paolo Tagliavento despite the ball crossing the line while being saved by
Gianluigi Buffon; the match ended 1–1. On 2 May 2012, Muntari scored a goal against Atalanta in a game that ended 2–0, bringing Milan one point behind leaders Juventus. Juventus eventually went on to win the Serie A title that year, beating Milan to the
Scudetto by four points.
Massimiliano Allegri said to
Milan Channel in May 2012 that Muntari would play with Milan for a further two years until June 2014. Muntari officially signed for Milan on a free transfer after his Inter contract expired on 1 July 2012.
2012–13 season While on holiday in the off-season, Muntari picked up a knee injury playing
beach football that could keep him out for the entire first half of the
2012–13 season. On 20 February 2013, Muntari scored a goal to give Milan a two-goal lead against
Barcelona ahead of the second leg in the
last 16 tie in the
UEFA Champions League. However, it was not enough as Barcelona knocked Milan out in the return leg at the
Camp Nou, 4–0 and 4–2 on aggregate. in 2013 On 8 May 2013, Muntari scored his first goal in
2012–13 season in a match against
Pescara, which Milan won 4–0. Later that month, he was fined €10,000 and suspended for two matches after being sent off during a game against
Roma for manhandling referee Gianluca Rocchi whilst protesting a call.
2013–14 season On 6 October, Muntari put on an impressive performance for Milan as he scored two goals against Juventus, though Juventus went on to win the game 3–2. On 16 December Muntari scored a late goal against Roma to salvage a 2–2 draw. He was then sent off the following match against former club Inter when he hit
Zdravko Kuzmanović, receiving a three-match ban. On 18 May, Muntari helped Milan win the three points against
Sassuolo when Muntari scored a goal and helped Milan win the match 2–1. On 31 August 2014, Muntari scored in Milan's opening game in the
2014–15 Serie A as Milan beat
Lazio 3–1. On 4 October, Muntari contributed to Milan's 2–0 win against Chievo by scoring the opening goal of the game.
Ittihad FC On 27 July 2015, Muntari joined
Saudi league team
Ittihad FC on a two-year deal. He made his league debut for the
Jeddah-based club on 20 August, in their first match of the season, playing the full 90 minutes as they defeated
Najran SC 2–1. On 17 October, Muntari provided two assists to two of the three goals scored by
Gelmin Rivas in a 3–1 victory over
Al-Qadsiah. On 25 February 2016, he scored his first goal for the club, helping his side to a 1–0 home league victory against Najran SC. He scored his second goal for the club the following game week in their 6–2 victory over
Al-Raed. Muntari played in the
2016 AFC Champions League, he made his debut in the competition against
Lokomotiv Tashkent in their 1–1 draw on 23 February. The following month, in their second leg against Lokomotiv Tashkent, he scored his third goal for the club, a long range effort which helped Ittihad to another 1–1 draw. At the end of the season, Muntari played 29 matches in all competitions and scored three goals. Muntari's contract with Ittihad was terminated at the end of the season due to financial constraints from the club. In 2017, FIFA ordered the team to pay him $5.3 million due protracted contract dispute.
Pescara In January 2017 he returned to Italy by signing a six-month contract with
Pescara. Muntari made his debut 5 February 2017, in a 6–2 loss to Lazio. On 12 March, he scored his first goal for Pescara in their 3–2 loss to his former club
Udinese Calcio. On 30 April 2017, Muntari left a
Serie A match at
Cagliari after his complaints of racist abuse were met with a yellow card. After that incident, Muntari did not feature for the club again and was benched for the remaining four matches of the season. That match against Cagliari extended Muntari's Serie A appearance record for an African Player to 270 matches. The record was later broken by fellow Ghanaian player
Kwadwo Asamoah in 2021.
Deportivo La Coruña On 22 February 2018, Muntari joined Spanish club
Deportivo de La Coruña until the end of the
2017–18 season. The manager,
Clarence Seedorf, with whom he played in the
2011–12 season at AC Milan, influenced him to sign with the club. He was given the number 21 jersey which was previously won by the club's legend
Juan Carlos Valerón.
Albacete On 31 January 2019, after six months of inactivity Muntari signed with
Albacete until the end of the season. Due to his lack of fitness, Muntari did not make a mach day squad for Albacete until 2 March 2019, when he was named on the bench and was unused substitute in their 1–0 loss to
Cádiz CF. The following match day, he came on in the 84th minute for
Mickaël Malsa to make his debut in their 1–0 loss to
Gimnàstic. On 7 April 2019, he started his match for the club, assisting
Aleix Febas to score the game-winning goal against
AD Alcorcón to grant them a 1–0 away win.
Accra Hearts of Oak After two-years without a contract, Muntari returned to active football and joined Ghana Premier League giants
Hearts of Oak on a six-month deal. He revealed that he signed with the Accra-based team because his son asked him to do so, so that he could come to the stadium and watch him play. Muntari was given the number 10 jersey after Hearts petitioned the
Ghana Football Association after
Emmanuel Nettey has worn that jersey number in the first half of the season, prior to his transfer. On 6 February 2022, he made his debut as a substitute in a 1–0 loss to rivals
Accra Great Olympics, coming on in the 79th minute for
William Dankyi. The following match day, he made his first start for the club in their goalless draw against
Real Tamale United at the
Aliu Mahama Stadium. When Muntari was taken off in the 80th minute, he was given a standing ovation and received applause from both RTU and Hearts supporters. He won the
President Cup on 4 March, his first trophy at the club, playing 80 minutes of a 2–1 victory over arch-rivals
Asante Kotoko. His performance earned him praise. On 9 March 2022, he scored his first goal, a winner in a 2–1 Ghana Premier League match against
West African Football Academy. He scored from the penalty spot after
Patrick Razak was fouled in the box. On 27 June 2022, Muntari came on as a late substitute in the 2023 Ghana FA Cup final as Hearts won the cup via a 2–1 victory over Bechem United. The FA Cup final was also his final professional career match, after turning down a contract renewal proposal from the club and announcing his retirement in November. At the end of his short-stint with Hearts, he made 15 matches in all competitions, scored 1 goal, provided two assists and won two trophies. ==International career==