Rabbi Matondo, aged 25 and pride of England, exerts his football mastery primarily as a left winger for Rangers. Standing at 5ft 8in (1.75m), and weighing 10st 5lb (66kg), Matondo is the reliable rival you see when some bright spark says, "We're out of ideas, chuck number 17 on." In addition to gracing England with his semi-adequate ball skills, he's also had the honour of donning the red jersey of the Wales national team.
In the thriving summer of 2016, young Matondo hitched his ambitions to Manchester City's star, joining the Premier League elites as a trainee. What did he do there? You may ask. Well, he was a trainee. If there was more, it must have blown away in the Manchester breeze.
Fast forward to January 2019, our wandering winger departed the dizzy heights of Manchester for the coal mines of Schalke 04 in Germany's 2nd Bundesliga, priced sensibly at around £8.1m. Here, Matondo exhibited the consistency of a Swiss timepiece, making 30 first team appearances over three seasons and chipping in with just 2 goals for his efforts.
Not feeling the love in Schalke, Matondo packed his boots and took a little holiday to Stoke City on loan in January 2021. Bit of a culture shock from German precision to English Championship's grit but he still managed to stumble into the net once during his ten appearances.
Around came August 2021, after a short return to Schalke, the Welsh wanderer hopped off again, this time to Belgium's Cercle Brugge. Here, his left wing efforts began to finally bear some fruit with 9 goals in 26 appearances, a veritable feast after previous goal droughts.
In July of 2022 Matondo found himself snapped up by Scotland's Rangers for £2.7m. Several seasons at Rangers saw Matondo embrace a role as a sometime contributor, occasionally potting a goal, and more than once simply making up the numbers.
Fancying a German return, Matondo popped back to the Bundesliga in January 2025 for a loan spell with Hannover 96. Ten appearances and a quiet goal later, he returned to Rangers in Scotland again, clearly as a glutton for punishment.
As for his international accolades, in World Cup Qualifiers for Wales 2024 - 2026, he saved his goat for three substitute appearances then indulged in the Europa League 2023 - 2024 for Rangers with one start and three cameo appearances.
Overall, quite the journeyman, our Matondo, always a club's second thought, never the bride. A footballer living out the definition of "It's a job."
