Shkodran Mustafi

Shkodran Mustafi (German pronunciation: [ˈʃkoːdʁan mʊsˈtafiː]; born 17 April 1992) is a German former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.

Mustafi began his career in the youth ranks of Hamburger SV and English club Everton, where he made one substitute appearance for them before leaving to Sampdoria in January 2012. He signed a five-year deal at Valencia in August 2014, and moved to Arsenal for a reported £35 million two years later. He played 151 games for Arsenal. He later returned to the Bundesliga with Schalke 04 and La Liga with Levante.

Mustafi made his full international debut against Poland on 13 May 2014, and was part of the German teams that won the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, also competing at UEFA Euro 2016.

Club career

Early career

Mustafi was born in Bad Hersfeld, Hesse, to a Macedonian Albanian family originally from Gostivar in the former Yugoslavia. Mustafi started his career in the youth system of local 1. FC Bebra, and had a stint with SV Rotenburg, before joining Hamburger SV's youth setup in 2006.

Everton

In May 2009, Mustafi joined Everton, initially assigned to the academy team. He later stated that "Goodison Park feels like home", after turning down offers from Manchester City and Newcastle United.

Mustafi made his competitive debut on 16 December 2009, replacing Tony Hibbert in the 75th minute of a 0–1 home loss against BATE Borisov, for the season's UEFA Europa League. He was also named on the bench for the Premier League matches against Arsenal and Manchester City in January. Mustafi only appeared on the bench nine times in the following two campaigns, but never played in any further matches.