Powerful Malian midfielder Tongo Doumbia will join Western United for its A-League Men Championship defence in 2022/23.
The Mali international arrives with almost 300 senior games across Europe and Asia under his belt in a career spanning 13 years to date.
Doumbia said he is excited to have signed with the A-League Men Champions and hopes to contribute to further success for the Green and Black.
“I’m happy and excited to sign for Western United,” he said.
“When I spoke with the coach, I felt a good feeling and my decision to come was very quick.
“I heard many good things about the squad so I want to meet them as soon as possible. I saw the team won the league last year and hopefully I can be part of a great season again.”
Western United Head Coach John Aloisi said Doumbia was exactly the sort of player he was after to further bolster his midfield ranks.
“Tongo is an incredibly powerful midfield player, with big size and great defensive attributes that will serve us really well,” he said.
“On top of that, he has great experience in Europe and in Asia, which will be important for us. I look forward to having him join us and seeing his impact on the team.”
Born in France, Doumbia towers at 191cm (6ft3in) tall and made 20 appearances for Mali, including two at the 2015 African Cup of Nations.
The midfielder amassed almost 150 games in France’s Ligue 1 for Valenciennes, Toulouse and Stade Rennais – where he played four times in the Europa League – before spending a season with Wolverhampton Wanderers in the English Championship.
Doumbia helped Dinamo Zagreb to a Croatian league and cup double in 2017/18 and featured in the FIFA Club World Cup and the AFC Asian Champions League the following season with Al-Ain FC.
Doumbia becomes the third player to join the Club after James Troisi and Jacob Tratt also signed on for this season, which kicks off on October 7 with a Grand Final rematch against Melbourne City.
