Emilio Nsue is certainly a popular figure among Middlesbrough supporters.

After spending eight years with Real Mallorca the Equatorial Guinea international was tempted into a move to England as the opportunity to head for Teesside came to fruition.

At 26 years of age it's unlikely that moving to the North East of England was high up on Nsue's list of career ambitions, but with Aitor Karanka looking to build a team that were capable of challenging at the highest level it seemed that it was a challenge that was too good to turn down.

What happened during his time at the club would make him a real favourite.

Karanka oversaw the most successful period in the club's recent history as he built a team that would go on to secure promotion to the Premier League.

While Nsue took time to settle at the Riverside Stadium he soon became the first choice right-back at the club, making 80 appearances for the club and playing a key role in the promotion-winning campaign.

 

 

Despite playing a key role in winning promotion Nsue fell down the pecking order as the club adapted to life in the top flight before eventually leaving for Birmingham City on a free transfer in January 2017.

He spent just one year at St Andrews but did make 38 appearances for the club before being allowed to move on.

It was then that the versatile star moved to Cypriot side APOEL FC for an undisclosed fee in January 2018.

Nsue established himself as a first team regular with the club before moving on to join Apollon Limassol after a fallout with the APOEL head coach which led to the termination of his contract.

However he then returned to APOEL in September 2020 after agreeing a one-year contract with the club as the 31-year-old looks to kick on.