Chris Malonga

Position

He plays as a versatile box-to-box midfielder who is capable of playing as either a centre midfielder or an attacker.

Club career

After starting in the small club Migennes he moved to Auxerre, Malonga began his career with hometown club Auxerre and spent three years at the club before joining CS Louhans-Cuiseaux. After a year's stint there, he joined Nancy and spent three years in the club's youth academy before making his professional debut during the 2007–08 season. In 2007/08 Ligue 1 season, Malonga made his debut on 11 August 2007 in a 1–0 win over Caen and the next game on 16 August 2007, Malonga provided assist to Pascal Berenguer, which turned out to be a winning goal in a 2–1 win against Nice. Two weeks later on 25 August 2007, he scored his first Ligue 1 goal in a 4–1 against Auxerre. He since established himself in the first team at the club, under new manager Pablo Correa.

Four months later, he scored the winning goal in a 1–0 win over Bordeaux, leading the club to go onto second place. But when both clubs meet again on 29 March 2008, which Bordeaux won 2–1, he made a foul on opposition player Johan Micoud in the penalty box, leading a penalty and was converted by Fernando Cavenaghi. This match was proved to be controversial when TV replays suggested it was opposite way round. Malonga had to be held back from confronting Micoud. Having been a victim of refereeing errors, Micoud received a one match ban by the Disciplinary Committee of the Professional Football League, for his role by cheating to win a penalty. Despite this, he scored on the final game of the season in a 3–2 loss against Rennes. At the end of the season, Malonga had a successful debut season, making 32 appearance and scoring 5 goals. He shortly signed a new contract, keeping him until 2011.

However, in 2008–09 season, he went on to only make twelve appearances, due to having a two strain injury, which ruled him out for the rest of the season. In 2009–10 campaign, he found to recapture his form and had a good season scoring 4 goals and 6 assists in 25 league matches, including a two goals in consecutive games against Lille and Le Mans on May. Despite this, ASNL decided to part ways with Malonga. In the 2010–2011 season, he made two appearance before leaving for Monaco.

In August 2010, he joined Monaco for the fee of €1 million from Nancy and was assigned the number 7 shirt. On 12 September 2010, He made his debut in a 2–2 draw, against Marseille, having come on as a substitute. Two months later, on 7 November 2010, he scored a brace in a 4–0 win over his former club Nancy. However, the club would be relegated to Ligue 2, due to poor results and Malonga remained at the club despite the club's relegation. The next season, Malonga featured for the last eight games but soon disappeared from the first team, due to new signing.

After two unhappy season at Monaco without making an impact, Malonga went to Switzerland joining Lausanne-Sport on loan for the rest of the season where he will join up with national team-mate Matt Moussilou. On 14 July 2012, he made his debut, playing in the left-midfield in a 0–0 draw against Thun and two weeks later, he scored his first goal and provided an assist, in a 5–1 win over Servette. During his time with Lausanne-Sport, Malonga became a key player for the club and was a goalscoring threat throughout the season. He returned to Monaco after his one year in Switzerland.

Malonga once again left Monaco on the last days of the transfer window, to sign a one-year contract with Primeira Liga club Vitória de Guimarães.

International career

Despite being born in France, Malonga is a Congolese international having made his debut with the team in 2008.