Free agent Stephane Mbia could be headed for a move to Major League Soccer with Atlanta United after attending Saturday’s match against LAFC.
A Cameroon international, Mbia is a free agent after being released from his contract with Chinese Super League outfit China Hebei Fortune on March 2.
The former Queens Park Rangers and Marseille was seen speaking with Atlanta’s director of soccer operations Paul McDonough and vice president technical director Carlos Bocanegra. Mbia played alongside Bocanegra during the early stages of his career at Rennes.
However, Atlanta United manager Gerardo Martino told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution after his side’s 5-0 win that he didn’t know whether Mbia was a target for the club.
Julien Chaput of BeINSports reported last week that Martino — previously of Barcelona and the Argentina national team — was keen on the towering 31-year-old, who could fill in as a potential replacement for the departed Carlos Carmona.
Mbia began his professional career with Rennes in 2004 before signing for OM in 2009, winning the French title in his first campaign. He left for QPR in 2012 but was part of the side that was relegated in 2013, before he joined Sevilla, initially on loan.
The versatile defender was a two-time Europa League winner with the Spanish heavyweights before signing for Trabzonspor and then moving onto China after a sole campaign in Turkey.
He represented Cameroon at two World Cups and three African Cup of Nations, including in 2008 when the Indomitable Lions finished runners-up in Ghana.
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