Christian Mbulu

Christian Mbulu (6 August 1996 – 26 May 2020) was an English professional footballer who played as a defender. During his career he played for Brentwood Town, Millwall (including loans to Canvey Island and Braintree Town), Motherwell, Crewe Alexandra and Morecambe.

Christian Mbulu
Mbulu with Braintree Town in April 2017
Personal information
Full name Christian Mbulu
Date of birth (1996-08-06)6 August 1996
Place of birth Newham, England
Date of death 26 May 2020(2020-05-26) (aged 23)
Place of death Cottam, England
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)[1]
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
Thurrock
East Thurrock United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2015 Brentwood Town 64 (2)
2015–2018 Millwall 0 (0)
2016 → Canvey Island (loan) 3 (0)
2017 → Braintree Town (loan) 3 (0)
2018–2019 Motherwell 6 (0)
2019–2020 Crewe Alexandra 4 (0)
2020 Morecambe 3 (0)
Total 83 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Brentwood Town

Mbulu began his senior career at the age of 17 when he signed to non-League club Brentwood Town in the 2013–14 season, following spells at fellow Essex-based clubs Thurrock and East Thurrock United.[1]

Millwall

After a successful 2015–16 pre-season trial, Mbulu signed his first professional contract for Millwall on his 19th birthday, 6 August 2015.[2] Mbulu rejected a contract offer from Colchester United where he had also been on trial. During his time at the South London club he attracted interest from clubs such Chelsea, Swansea City, Watford, and Crystal Palace and a loan spell to Braintree Town respectively. He spent three seasons at Millwall before they released him at the end of the 2017–18 season.[3]

Loans

In January 2016, Mbulu joined Canvey Island on a one-month loan.[1] Mbulu made three appearances during his time at the club.[4]

In March 2017, Mbulu moved to Braintree Town on a month-long loan deal.[5]

Motherwell

On 10 August 2018, Mbulu signed a one-year contract with Motherwell after his release from Millwall at the end of the previous season.[6] In October 2018, Mbulu was named as Player of the Round for the third round of the Scottish Challenge Cup after scoring to help Motherwell's under-21 side to a 2–0 win against League of Ireland club Sligo Rovers.[7] Mbulu made his league debut for Motherwell on 11 November, when he came on as a second-half substitute in the 77th minute of a game against Rangers at Ibrox. On 9 December, two Hearts supporters were arrested on suspicion of racially abusing Mbulu during a match at Tynecastle.[8] On 21 May 2019, Motherwell confirmed that Mbulu would be released at the end of his contract on 31 May 2019.[9]

Crewe Alexandra

On 30 October 2019, Mbulu signed a short-term contract with Crewe Alexandra[10] until January 2020,[11] making his debut in an EFL Trophy tie against Everton U21s at Gresty Road on 5 November 2019. He left Crewe Alexandra by mutual consent on 24 January 2020.[12]

Morecambe

Following his release from Crewe, Mbulu joined Morecambe on a deal until the end of the season,[13] making his Morecambe debut in a 2–0 win at Walsall on 28 January 2020.[14]

Personal life

Mbulu was of Congolese descent.[15]

Death

Mbulu died on 26 May 2020, aged 23.[16][17] Police were called to his home in Preston at 1:30 p.m. and did not treat the death as suspicious.[18][19] His team placed a picture of his on the substitutes bench during a visit to Chelsea in the FA Cup in January 2021.[20]

Career statistics
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[21]
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Brentwood Town 2013–14 Isthmian League 260000020280
2014–15 382000060442
Total 642000080722
Millwall 2015–16 League One 0000000000
2016–17 0000000000
2017–18 Championship 000000—00
Total 0000000000
Canvey Island (loan) 2015–16 Isthmian League 3000000030
Braintree Town (loan) 2016–17 National League 3000—0030
Motherwell 2018–19 Scottish Premiership 6000003[lower-alpha 1]191
Crewe Alexandra 2019–20[22] League Two 4020001[lower-alpha 2]070
Morecambe 2019–20[22] League Two 3000000030
Career total 8322000121973
  1. Matches in the Scottish Challenge Cup, in which age-restricted teams from the Scottish Premiership clubs compete against senior clubs.
  2. Appearance in EFL Trophy

References
  1. "Christian Mbulu". 11v11. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  2. "Millwall sign teenage defender Mbulu". Millwall F.C. 6 August 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  3. "Millwall announce retained list". Millwall F.C. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  4. "Christian Mbulu". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  5. "Christian Mbulu: Braintree sign Millwall defender on loan". bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 17 March 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  6. "MOTHERWELL RECRUIT DEFENDER CHRISTIAN MBULU". motherwellfc.co.uk. Motherwell F.C. 10 August 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  7. Goldthorp, Craig (26 October 2018). "Irn-Bru Cup Player of Round Christian Mbulu is now eyeing spot in Motherwell first team". Motherwell Times. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  8. McLauchlin, Brian (8 December 2018). "Hearts 1-0 Motherwell: Two arrests after Christian Mbulu racially abused". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  9. "UPDATE ON PLAYING SQUAD FOR 2019/20". motherwellfc.co.uk/. Motherwell F.C. 21 May 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  10. "Christian Mbulu: Crewe Alexandra sign defender on 'short-term' deal". BBC Sport. 30 October 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  11. Morse, Peter (10 December 2019). "Crewe Alex: 'If I don't play well I won't expect new deal' - Christian Mbulu". Cheshire Live. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  12. "Christian Mbulu Leaves Crewe Alexandra". www.crewealex.net. 24 January 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  13. "CHRISTIAN MBULU SIGNS". www.morecambefc.com. 24 January 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  14. "Walsall 0-2 Morecambe". BBC Sport. BBC. 28 January 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  15. "Écosse D1 : Tshibola en diamant brut, Kilmarnock enchaîne ses victoires…" (in French). Leopard Actualite. 30 September 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  16. "Christian Mbulu: Morecambe and ex-Motherwell defender dies aged 23". BBC Sport. 26 May 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  17. "Morecambe and former Motherwell defender Christian Mbulu dies aged 23". The Guardian. 26 May 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  18. Macpherson, Jon (26 May 2020). "Man who died at Preston address is professional footballer Christian Mbulu". Lancs Live. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  19. Snuggs, Tania (27 May 2020). "Christian Mbulu dies at 23: Morecambe 'shocked and saddened' at death of player". Sky News. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  20. https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/55575484
  21. "C.Mbulu". soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  22. "Games played by Christian Mbulu in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
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