Demba Ba (born 25 May 1985) is a former professional footballer. Born in France, he played as a striker and represented the Senegal national team. He serves as the chairman of National Independent Soccer Association side Albion San Diego.
He made his first-team debut with French team Rouen in 2005 before moving to Mouscron and then TSG Hoffenheim in Germany in 2007. In 2011, he moved to Premier League side West Ham United. He played only 12 games for West Ham and despite being their league top goal scorer in the 2010–11 season, they were relegated to the Championship and Ba moved to Newcastle United. In January 2013, he completed a move to Chelsea for an undisclosed fee, before joining Beşiktaş for €6 million 18 months later in 2014. After one season in Turkey, he moved to Shanghai Shenhua of the Chinese Super League, in a spell that included a loan move back to Beşiktaş. He then had a short spell with Göztepe in Turkey, before rejoining Shanghai Shenhua. He remained there for half a season before returning to Turkey with İstanbul Başakşehir, where he would remain for two seasons. After a short spell with Lugano in Switzerland, he retired from professional football in September 2021.
Born and raised in France, Ba was a full international for Senegal from 2007 to 2015 and represented the country at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.
Ba was born in Sèvres, Hauts-de-Seine and is the sixth child of seven. He grew up in Saint-Valery-en-Caux, Seine-Maritime. He joined the youth section of ES Mont-Gaillard, located in Le Havre, in 1992, before playing for Port Autonome between 1999 and 2000, and then for Frileuse between 2000 and 2001.
In 2001, Ba returned to Châtillon and played for Montrouge. He played there until 2004, at which point he decided to concentrate on his football. Later that year, after unsuccessful trials at Lyon and Auxerre, Ba moved to the United Kingdom to seek a professional contract. He was recommended to Watford manager Ray Lewington through his friend Gauthier Diafutua, then a Watford player, but released shortly after Lewington's dismissal. Ba then spent a week on trial at Barnsley, and returned to France after two more unsuccessful trials at Football League sides Swansea City and Gillingham.
Ba signed with manager Alain Michel because they were both moving to French club Rouen on a one-year contract, and Ba enjoyed a highly successful season with the club.
Belgian club Mouscron beat off competition from numerous other clubs to win Ba's signature in 2006. Scoring in each of his first three games, he then picked up fractures in his tibia and fibula, and was out of action between August 2006 and April 2007. Following his eight-month recovery period he scored seven goals in nine games, and picked up his first international cap.
On 29 August 2007, Ba moved to 2. Bundesliga side TSG Hoffenheim for €3 million. Ba was an integral part of Hoffenheim's promotion to the Bundesliga and their successful first season in the Bundesliga, where they finished seventh after leading during the Christmas break. In that season he scored 14 goals, only missing one game all season. These goals included a hat-trick in a 3–3 game against Stuttgart on 24 February 2009. In all competitions Ba scored 40 goals in 103 appearances for TSG Hoffenheim.
In July 2009, he was due to move to VfB Stuttgart, but the move fell through after he failed a medical. In December of that year Ba extended his contract at Hoffenheim to 2013.
Ba left Hoffenheim for disputed reasons in January 2011. Claiming the club had gone back on an agreed transfer to a Premier League club, believed to be West Ham United, he refused to travel to Hoffenheim's winter training camp. In response, Hoffenheim's general manager said his contract would be cancelled, he would face legal action, and he would be fined and prevented from moving to another club for six months. The club also later claimed he travelled to England without permission in order to force a move, which they reluctantly agreed needs to happen due to Ba's actions. The club later agreed to a transfer to Stoke City for a reported fee of £7.1 million, but it fell through after Ba had agreed personal terms but failed his medical for undisclosed reasons. Expressing disappointment, Stoke City manager Tony Pulis said "Obviously they found something which could cause problems later".
After leaving Hoffenheim, the club's general manager Ernst Tanner stated the club stand by their decision selling Ba.
After the collapsed Stoke deal, Ba was sold to West Ham United for an undisclosed fee based on appearances. He signed a three-year contract on 28 January, on a pay as you play basis due to knee problems found in the Stoke medical. Ba's Premier League debut came on 6 February 2011, as a 75th-minute substitute for Robbie Keane during a 1–0 home defeat by Birmingham City. His first goals followed six days later during his full debut, scoring twice in a 3–3 draw against West Bromwich Albion. Despite finishing as their top scorer for the season with seven from twelve games including 2 in the last game, Ba's stay with West Ham proved to be short. Following their relegation to the Championship after a 3–2 loss away to Wigan Athletic he invoked a release clause in his contract allowing him to leave for free. He turned down a £50,000-a-week salary plus a bonus payment of £500,000 in order to stay in the Premier League with another club, triggering interest from both Everton and Newcastle United.
On 17 June 2011, Ba signed for Newcastle United on a three-year deal, making his club debut on 13 August 2011 in the 0–0 draw against Arsenal. His first goals for the club came on 24 September 2011 with a hat-trick against Blackburn Rovers in a 3–1 home win. A second hat-trick came in a 3–1 away win at Stoke City, taking his league total to 8 and maintaining the club's 11-game unbeaten league start, taking them to 3rd in the league. Ba's goalscoring form continued despite Newcastle entering a downward spell, and saw him picked in ESPN.com's Premier League Best XI for the first half of the season, and named Premier League Player of the Month for December 2011.
By the time Ba left to play in the January 2012 Africa Cup of Nations his league tally had reached 15, making him second top scorer in the league behind Arsenal's Robin van Persie. He left for the tournament on a high note, scoring the first in a 3–0 home win over Manchester United on 4 January 2012, the team's first victory against the league champions in over a decade. While at the Africa Cup of Nations tournament, Ba's Senegal teammate Papiss Cissé also signed for Newcastle. Ba and Cissé returned earlier than expected after Senegal finished bottom of their group, with Ba having missed three Premier League games and two FA Cup games, the second of which saw Newcastle knocked out of the cup. He returned to action against Aston Villa on their visit to St James' Park on 5 February 2012, his return proved to be a goal scoring one as he netted the opener in the game which Newcastle won 2–1. This would prove to be Ba's last goal of the season, as he moved to the left of a three pronged attack with Papiss Cissé leading the line, and grabbing 12 goals in the second half of the season. Despite this late season slump, Ba was voted as the best signing of the 2011–12 season by Premier League managers in March 2012. He finished the season as Newcastle's leading goal scorer, with 16 goals.
Ba got his season off to a strong start scoring in a 1–0 win against Monaco, in Landsberg am Lech, Germany on 16 July 2012. He also scored in a 2–1 win against Braga which helped Newcastle win the Guadiana Trophy. In Newcastle's first league game against Tottenham, Ba opened the scoring with a fantastic volleyed effort in a 2–1 win. On 17 September 2012, he scored Newcastle's 1000th goal of the Premier League era, after scoring both goals in a 2–2 draw against Everton at Goodison Park. On 29 September, he scored for the third game in a row as he scored twice in a 2–2 draw away to Reading, the first a volley, the second however proved controversial as the ball struck his arm before going in.