Messi Bouli

Raphael Eric Messi Bouli (born 23 April 1992) or simply Messi Bouli or Messi B is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Chinese second division club Heilongjiang Lava Spring.

Club Career

Bouli started his career in Cameroon with FAP Yaounde in 2013. A year later, he signed for Canon Yaounde where he remained for the 2014 and 2015 Elite One seasons. 2016 saw Bouli join APEJES, with whom he won the 2016 Cameroonian Cup with. In 2017, Bouli scored fourteen goals in twenty-four league fixtures. On 1 March 2018, Bouli joined China League One side Yanbian Funde. He made his debut against Nei Mongol Zhongyou on 1 April, prior to netting in back-to-back matches in May versus Qingdao Huanghai and Zhejiang Greentown respectively. Bouli moved to Iran to play for Foolad of the Persian Gulf Pro League in 2019.

Bouli departed Foolad in June 2019, after scoring one goal (against Esteghlal Khuzestan) in twelve games for the Iranian club. In the months following his departure, Bouli threatened to complain to FIFA, along with then-manager Afshin Ghotbi and former teammate Takafumi Akahoshi, regarding unpaid wages. On 24 August, Bouli completed a move to India with Super League team Kerala Blasters. He scored eight goals for them, which included a brace over Jamshedpur on 13 December. September 2020 saw Bouli return to Chinese football as he agreed terms with League One team Heilongjiang Lava Spring.