Bafétimbi Gomis (; born 6 August 1985) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for J1 League club Kawasaki Frontale.
Gomis played youth football with Saint-Étienne before making his professional debut for the club in 2004, also spending time on loan at Troyes in Ligue 2. In 2009, he joined Saint-Étienne's Derby du Rhone rivals Lyon for a fee of €13 million. Over five seasons at the Stade Gerland, he played 244 official matches and scored 95 goals, winning the Coupe de France and the Trophée des Champions in 2012. In 2014, he moved to Premier League club Swansea City on a free transfer. After a loan back in France at Marseille, he signed for Galatasaray, where he was top scorer as they won the Süper Lig in 2018.
Gomis made 12 appearances for the France national team from 2008 to 2013, scoring three goals. He was a member of the squad for UEFA Euro 2008.
Club career
Saint-Étienne
Born in La Seyne-sur-Mer, Var, Gomis made 13 appearances for Saint-Étienne in his first season with the club, scoring two league goals. In the next season, he made six goalless appearances for the club before going on loan to Troyes AC in a successful six-month loan deal, where he scored six goals in 13 matches. The 2005–06 season was not as successful as the previous season as he made 24 league appearances for Saint-Étienne, scoring only two league goals.
The 2006–07 season was when Gomis established himself with Saint-Étienne, scoring ten goals in 30 appearances. Gomis continued this form into the 2007–08 season where he scored an impressive 16 goals in 34 appearances.
In the 2008 summer transfer window, Newcastle United under manager Kevin Keegan reportedly offered a transfer fee of £10 million for Gomis' services. However, a move did not materialise and Gomis remained at Saint-Étienne.
In an interview with French newspaper L'Équipe, Gomis stated he was attracted by a possible move to England, but revealed Serie A would be his preference. In the weeks leading up to the 2009 January transfer window, his name was again touted in speculation surrounding various Premier League sides, though he moved to allay the rumours, stating his desire to see out the Ligue 1 season with his current club.
Gomis' form in the 2008–09 season was scrutinized more heavily than it was in the previous season. Despite this, Gomis successfully netted five times in 17 league appearances, and excelled with his performances in the UEFA Cup, scoring three times in four matches.
Lyon
On 29 July 2009, Olympique Lyonnais announced that they had signed the striker for €13 million and the player had agreed to a five-year contract. With the move, Gomis became just the sixth player in French football history to transfer directly from Saint-Étienne to Derby du Rhône arch-rivals Lyon.
On the first day of the 2011–12 Ligue 1 campaign, Gomis scored the winning goal in a 3–1 victory over Nice on 6 August 2011. On 24 September, he scored a first-half brace against Girondins de Bordeaux firing his side to a 3–1 away victory.
Gomis bagged four goals in the last round of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League group stage, helping Lyon to a 7–1 victory over Dinamo Zagreb and progression to the Round of 16 on goal difference. He also created a new record for the fastest Champions League hat-trick ever scored, beating the record owned by Mike Newell. The record was later broken by Mohamed Salah in the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League group stage as Liverpool routed Rangers 7–1.
On 25 February 2012, Gomis scored on a volley to bring his side level with league leaders PSG 1–1; the match finished in a dramatic 4–4 draw, after Lyon was winning 4–2. He replaced Alexandre Lacazette in the 70th minute in a derby match against former club Saint-Étienne on 17 March, and ten minutes later scored a 30-yard strike to earn his side a 1–0 victory. He continued his rich vein of form against relegation-threatened Sochaux on 24 March when he converted an Anthony Réveillère cross to earn his side a 2–1 victory.
Swansea City
On 27 June 2014, Gomis signed a four-year contract at Swansea City after leaving Lyon at the end of the 2013–14 Ligue 1 season on a free transfer. He made his competitive debut in the opening match of the season on 16 August, replacing Wilfried Bony for the last 13 minutes of an eventual 2–1 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford. On 26 August he scored his first competitive goal for the club in a 1–0 victory over Rotherham United in the Second Round of the League Cup. Gomis scored his first Premier League goal on 9 November 2014 scoring the winner barely a minute after entering the field, as his side came from behind to beat Arsenal 2–1.