Bakambu shares amazing encounter with Chinese fan

Real Betis FC’s Congolese attacker Cédric Bakambu has shared an amazing story of how football connects footballers and fans beyond borders.

Posting on his X account, the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s veteran forward shared a story of how a fan of the Chinese Super League Beijing Guoan FC followed him all the way to Spain. The two first met seven years ago when Bakambu was on the books of Beijing Guoan.

While the 35-year-old star had forgotten such a meeting, the Beijing Guoan follower still idolised the African player.

Therefore, the fan flew all the way from China to the training base of the Spanish La Liga side while carrying Beijing Guoan FC’s replica jerseys for the DRC player to sign autographs.

Un voyage de 7 ans pour un maillot
On dit souvent que le football va vite, que les matchs s’enchaînent et qu’on oublie. Mais cette semaine, au club, j’ai vécu un moment qui m’a rappelé exactement pourquoi je fais ce métier.

Il y a sept ans, je portais les couleurs du Beijing… pic.twitter.com/c1YLKVtu6b

— Cédric Bakambu (@Bakambu17) May 2, 2026

Giving an account of his reunion with the Chinese fan, Bakambu, writing on his x.com over the weekend, said he was so amazed at how football can unite people of different nationalities beyond the field of play.

“It is often said that football moves fast, that matches come one after another, and we forget,” Bakambu wrote. “But this week, at the club, I experienced a moment that reminded me exactly why I do this job. Seven years ago, I wore the colours of Beijing Guoan in China.”

“It was a defining step in my career, a different culture, and passionate fans who welcomed me with open arms. Among them was this fan. A surprise from Beijing.”

How Chinese fan caught Bakambu by surprise

The Leopards winger said he was caught by surprise at the sight of the Chinese fan visiting him at Real Betis training centre in Spain just to meet him.

“You can imagine my surprise when I saw him show up here in Seville at Betis’s training centre! He’d travelled more than 9,000 kilometres, crossing continents, in his luggage, jerseys I wore back then in China,” he added.

“Seeing him here, seven years later, with the same smile and the same admiration, touched me deeply. We took the time to chat, to reminisce about a few memories from Beijing, and I had the pleasure of signing his jerseys — the old ones as well as the new Betis one.

“What I’ll take away [is that] in a career, you win titles, you score goals, but this kind of encounter is a reward of another kind. Knowing that I was able to leave such a lasting mark in the heart of a fan on the other side of the world makes me proud and grateful.

“Football has no borders. Thank you to him for this incredible journey and for this dose of pure energy. It’s for moments like these that we give everything on the pitch. From Beijing to Seville, the passion remains the same.”

The former Galatasaray FC attacker is still going strong in La Liga, scoring three goals in 17 appearances.

The former FC Sochaux and Al Nassr star remains a key member of the DRC squad that recently qualified for the 2026 World Cup finals.