Thomas Partey
#5 · Midfielder · age 32 · (VC)
Left Arsenal for Villarreal in summer 2025
82
WC26 rating
- Recent form
- 45
- Career peak
- 72
- League level
- 90
- Competition pedigree
- 98
- International pedigree
- 87
- Longevity
- 64
Independent rating — league strength (Opta-anchored) × competition tier × position-normalized output. Not affiliated with EA or FIFA.
Career by season
Source: transfermarkt · fetched 2026-05-29
Partey is the vice-captain and the most senior dressing-room voice alongside Jordan Ayew. His role under Queiroz is the same as under Otto Addo before him — single pivot in front of the back four, with Kudus and the wide attackers ahead of him. The fitness story matters: a fully-fit Partey gives Ghana something close to a top-12 midfielder in the world, and the Villarreal move has given him a more-manageable workload than his Arsenal years. His tournament value is high.
Strengths
- ball-winning in front of the back four
- press-resistant carrying through midfield
- long-range shooting
- leadership and tournament temperament
Recent form
Played regularly for Villarreal in 2025-26; back to fuller match-fitness after the disrupted final Arsenal years.
Earned his nickname 'Partey' (rather than 'Yiadom-Boakye Partey') after fans in Madrid sang 'Thomas Partey and he wants to dance' as a terrace chant — the song followed him to Arsenal and back to Spain.