Karim David Adeyemi is now an FC Barcelona player. Although he has already spent several years at the top level of the game and is a globally recognised footballer, here are 10 things you may not know about him.

Class of 2002

Born in Munich on 18 January 2002, Adeyemi shares his birth year with two other Barça players: Gerard Martín and Pedri. He is just 39 days older than the defender.

Multicultural and caring

Adeyemi has a richly multicultural background. His father is Nigerian (meaning he was also eligible to represent Nigeria internationally) his mother is Romanian, and he was born in Germany. He also runs a foundation that helps children develop through education and sport, operating primarily in Ibadan, Nigeria's second-largest city.

Pro debut

Adeyemi's career also has an Austrian chapter. He made his professional debut there, playing for Red Bull Salzburg and its reserve side FC Liefering from 2018 onwards, having previously come through the youth systems of Bayern Munich and Unterhaching.

Flick, a key figure

The pair are reunited at Barça, but Hansi Flick had already played a pivotal role in Adeyemi's career. It was the current Barça coach who gave the forward his senior Germany debut on 5 September 2021, while he was still at Salzburg, in a 6-0 victory over Armenia in which Adeyemi scored the final goal. Flick also selected him for the 2022 World Cup, although he did not make an appearance at the tournament.

Speedster

One of Adeyemi's greatest strengths is his explosive acceleration and top speed. On 4 February 2023, he set a new Bundesliga speed record by reaching 36.65 km/h during a match against Freiburg.

Eleventh German

Karim Adeyemi becomes the 11th German player in the club's history. The others are Otto Maier (1899-1902), Udo Steinberg (1901-1910), Julius Müller (1908-1910), Walter Rositzky (1911-1913), Emyl Walter (1924-1931), Bernd Schuster (1980-1988), Robert Enke (2002-2003), Marc ter Stegen (2014-present), Kevin-Prince Boateng (2019) and Ilkay Gündogan (2023-2024).

Links between Dortmund and Barcelona

Adeyemi also joins the list of players who have represented both Borussia Dortmund and FC Barcelona. There were no players in this category until 2016, but over the past decade the list has grown to include Marc Bartra, Paco Alcácer, Ousmane Dembélé, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, İlkay Gündoğan, Robert Lewandowski and now Adeyemi. Like Adeyemi, Dembélé joined Barça directly from Borussia Dortmund.

Third with Salzburg past

Only three players have represented both Barça and Red Bull Salzburg: Hans Krankl, Jonathan Soriano and now Karim Adeyemi. The new Barça forward was with the Austrian club between 2019 and 2022.

Previous meetings with Barça

Adeyemi has faced Barça twice in official competition, both in the 2024/25 Champions League quarter-finals. Barça won the first leg 4-0 at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, while Borussia Dortmund claimed a 3-1 victory in the return leg.

2021 friendly

Those meetings came after an earlier friendly between Red Bull Salzburg and FC Barcelona in the summer of 2021. Adeyemi started the match, which the Austrian side won 2-1.

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