Gabon international striker, Aaron Boupendza playing for Chinese club Zhejiang FC, has died after falling from the 11th floor of a building in China.
Boupendza 28, a former Bordeaux of France and United States’ Major League star, featured for his Gabon at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Cameroon and won a total of 35 caps for the Panthers.
He had joined Chinese club Zhejiang FC, based in the city of Hangzhou, from Romanian outfit Rapid Bucharest in January.
Boupendza began his career in his homeland with CF Mounana and went on to have spells with sides in France, Portugal, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United States.
Gabon’s football federation (Fegafoot) announced the news of his death on social media.
“Boupendza is remembered as a great striker who made his mark during the [Afcon] in Cameroon,” the statement said.
“Fegafoot and the Gabonese football family offer their sincere condolences to his family.”
Gabon’s president-elect Gen Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema was among those to pay tribute to Boupendza, describing him as “a talented centre-forward who brought honour to Gabonese football”.
