Rabbi Matondo (born 9 September 2000) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a winger for

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...

club

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

and the Wales national team. Matondo played youth football for

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

and

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

. He joined German club

Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as Schalke 04 (), and abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional sports club from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its football team, w ...

in January 2019, where he made 32 first-team appearances and was sent on loan to

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

and

Cercle Brugge Cercle Brugge Koninklijke Sportvereniging () is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges. They compete in the Belgian Pro League, the top flight of Belgian football. Their matricule number is 12. The club plays home games at the 29 ...

. He signed for Rangers in July 2022. Born in England to parents from the

DR Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

, Matondo was eligible to play for either country, as well as Wales, where he grew up. Having played for the England under-15 team, he later opted to represent Wales and played at under-17 and under-21 levels before making his debut for the senior national team in November 2018.

Early life

Matondo was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, England but moved to

south Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

as a child. He grew up in the Tremorfa area of

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

where he first played football in local parks with his father and brothers. His father Dada played football in his native

. Two of his brothers, Cedrick and Japhet, also played football at youth level. As a teenager he attended

Llanishen High School Llanishen High School () is an English-medium secondary school based in Llanishen, Cardiff, Wales. It has approximately 1700 students, making it the largest single-site secondary school in Cardiff. It also has a sixth form college for 16–18 ...

Club career

Early career

Matondo began his career as a youth player with

. In 2016, he moved to

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

side

for a small compensation fee under the

Elite Player Performance Plan The Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) is a youth development scheme initiated by the Premier League. The intention of the EPPP is to improve the quality and quantity of home-grown players produced by top English clubs. Measures introduced by t ...

, an initiative created by the Premier League regarding movement of youth players. Cardiff appealed against the move and Matondo was blocked from playing for Manchester City until March 2017 when the appeal was denied. However, a fee of £500,000 was reported to have been agreed. He made his debut for the Manchester City U21 side in the

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Motors, Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football, football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and ...

on 15 August 2017 against

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

, scoring his first goal in the side's next match, a 2–1 defeat to

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

. He added two more goals in the 2018–19 EFL Trophy, the game's only away to

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

in the final group game, and one more in a 3–3 draw at

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

in the second round, as well as netting in the subsequent penalty shootout win.

Schalke 04

On 30 January 2019, Matondo signed for

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

club

for a reported fee of up to £11 million on a four-and-a-half-year deal. He made his professional league debut three days later in a 2–0 home loss to

Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e.V. Mönchengladbach, better known as Borussia Mönchengladbach () and colloquially known as just Gladbach, is a professional Association football, football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-W ...

, as a 75th-minute substitute for

Sebastian Rudy Sebastian Rudy (born 28 February 1990) is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder or defender. He began his senior career at VfB Stuttgart in 2008 before moving to TSG Hoffenheim in 2010, where he spent a majority of ...

; on 16 February he was given a start in a goalless home draw with

SC Freiburg Sport-Club Freiburg e.V., commonly known as SC Freiburg (), is a Football in Germany, German professional football club, based in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg. It plays in the Bundesliga, having been promoted as champions ...

. On 28 September 2019, he scored his first goal for Schalke in a 3–1 away victory over

RB Leipzig RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. (), commonly known as RB Leipzig or informally as Red Bull Leipzig, is a German professional association football, football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by the initiative of the company ...

. On 7 January 2021, Matondo joined

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

club

on a loan deal until the end of the 2020–21 season. He played 11 times for Stoke, scoring once in a 1–1 draw with

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

on 24 April 2021. On 9 August 2021, Matondo agreed to join

on a season-long loan with an option to make the move permanent.

Rangers

On 12 July 2022,

announced the signing of Matondo on a four-year deal, subject to international clearance. He made his debut for the club against Belgian side

Union Saint-Gilloise Royale Union Saint-Gilloise (), also known as Union Saint-Gilloise, Union SG or simply Union, is a Belgian professional football club from Brussels based in Forest. Founded in 1897 in the neighbouring Saint-Gilles, the club has played its home ...

during a

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

qualifier loss on 2 August. On 4 October 2022, he made his 5th

appearance for

away against

as a substitute. Rangers lost 2-0, however their first big chance in the game came through Matondo in the 84th minute (3 minutes after he came on), where his pace allowed him to breeze past Joel Matip and

nutmeg Nutmeg is the seed, or the ground spice derived from the seed, of several tree species of the genus '' Myristica''; fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg ('' M. fragrans'') is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fru ...

Liverpool goalkeeper

Alisson Becker Álisson Ramsés Becker (born 2 October 1992), better known as Alisson Becker or simply Alisson, is a Brazilian professional association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for club Liverpool F.C. ...

, but had his shot cleared off the line by Kostas Tsimikas before it could be tapped into the net by Fashion Sakala. Matondo scored his first

goal in a 1st leg Qualifier on 22 August 2023 vs

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional association football, football department, which has pla ...

slotting home a first-time finish into the bottom corner after a counter-attack to equalise.

Loan to Hannover 96

On 30 January 2025, Matondo signed for

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years between 19 ...

on loan from Rangers for the remainder of the 2024-25 season. Matondo scored 34 minutes into his debut against

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), or HSV (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its Association football, football department. Though the current HSV was founde ...

, receiving the ball on the left wing, and jinking between two defenders before curling into the far right corner.

International career

Matondo was eligible to represent DR Congo, England or Wales at international level. He represented England at under-15 level before switching allegiance to Wales at under-17 level. He made 10 appearances for the under-17 team. He received his first call up to the Wales under-21 squad in September 2017, making his debut for the side in a 3–1 victory over

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...

. After appearing in four qualifying matches as a substitute, he made his first start for the under-21 side in a 1–1 draw with

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

in the second of two friendlies against the nation in June 2018. He played eight games in total at under-21 level. In November 2018, Matondo received his first call up for the

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

Welsh squad for a friendly against

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

. He made his international debut during the match on 20 November as a 78th-minute substitute in place of

Sam Vokes Samuel Michael Vokes (born 21 October 1989) is a professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for club Wycombe Wanderers F.C., Wycombe Wanderers, and formerly for the Wales national footba ...

as Wales lost 1–0 in

Elbasan Elbasan ( , ; sq-definite, Elbasani, ) is the fourth most populous city of Albania and seat of Elbasan County and Elbasan Municipality. It lies to the north of the river Shkumbin between the Skanderbeg Mountains and the Myzeqe Plain in centr ...

. In May 2019, after travelling back to England from a Welsh national team training camp in Portugal, Matondo was escorted from the plane by police after "behaving disruptively". On 8 October 2020, Matondo started for Wales in a friendly against England. On 1 June 2022, Matondo came on as a half time substitute for Wales in a Nations League Group A game against Poland. Wales lost 2–1 with Matondo providing the assist for

Jonny Williams Jonathan Peter Williams (born 9 October 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Gillingham. He retired from international football for Wales in 2023. Williams started his career at Crystal Palace, and whilst t ...

's Wales goal. On 22 March 2025, Matondo came on in the second half for Wales in a World Cup Qualifier against Kazakhstan. Wales won 3-1 with Matondo scoring his first international goal in the closing stages of the match.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Rangers *

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

: 2023–24

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matondo, Rabbi 2000 births Living people Footballers from Liverpool Welsh men's footballers 21st-century Welsh sportsmen Wales men's youth international footballers Wales men's under-21 international footballers Wales men's international footballers English men's footballers Welsh people of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent Sportspeople of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent Black British sportsmen 21st-century Black British people Cardiff City F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Men's association football wingers FC Schalke 04 players FC Schalke 04 II players Stoke City F.C. players Cercle Brugge K.S.V. players Rangers F.C. players Hannover 96 players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Regionalliga players Oberliga (football) players English Football League players Belgian Pro League players Scottish Professional Football League players Welsh expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Welsh expatriate sportspeople in Germany Welsh expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Footballers from Cardiff 21st-century English sportsmen