Simon Banza completes permanent transfer to Al Jazira

DR Congo national team striker Simon Banza completed a big money transfer to Emirati club Al Jazira on Monday as announced by the club on its social media pages.

 

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“Hi, Al Jazira fans. Happy to be here and I hope that we can make good things together,” Banza declared in a brief video posted by the club. The 29-year-old joins from Portuguese club SC Braga for a reported transfer fee of €8.5 million and signed a contract that will run until the end of the 2027-28 season.

Simon Banza: Al Jazira acquires an established goal scorer

The prolific goal scorer spent last season on loan at Turkish Super Lig club Trabzonspor, where he scored 22 goals in 37 games across all competitions as the club finished seventh place on the Turkish top flight table. Banza scored 3 goals in 6 matches during Trabzonspor’s Turkish Cup campaign to lead the club to the final where they fell to Victor Osimhen and Galatasaray.

Big things are expected of Banza at Abu Dhabi-based Al Jazira, who have struggled to avoid mid-table finishes in recent seasons since winning the 2020-21 UAE Pro League title. With 7 points from 4 games so far this season (2 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat), Jazira currently sit 5th place in the early stages of the 2025-26 campaign.

Banza was born in France and developed at RC Lens, where he scored 18 goals in 99 matches. He went on loan multiple times to clubs in France, Luxembourg and finally Portugal where he moved on a permanent basis to Braga following a productive 2021-22 season with Famalicão. Banza scored 37 goals in 90 matches for Braga before last season’s loan to Trabzonspor.

The striker is also a member of the DR Congo national team, representing the nation of his parents at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. He has 2 goals in 14 appearances for the Leopards, scoring both goals in a 3-1 friendly victory over Madagascar in June.

Al Jazira next host Al Wahda in UAE Pro League play on Wednesday.