Modou Barrow

Club career

Early life and Sweden

Barrow was born in the Gambia. His mother died when he was just 11. He and his four brothers joined their father in Sweden. He reflected that "Football obviously helped me get through that period of my life. I was very good at football and got a lot of friends at my new school, mainly because many of them really liked to play football with me. I was never bullied because I was from another country."

He spent his youth career at Östers IF and Mjölby AI, before earning his first senior appearances with Mjölby AI. His best friend from Gambia had moved to the town of Mjölby. While visiting his friend, he was invited to train with the club, and quickly caught the eye of the senior squad. This in turn led to a deal with the nearby club IFK Norrköping. After spells at fellow Swedish sides Mjölby Södra IF, IFK Norrköping, and Varbergs BoIS, he joined Swedish second-tier side Östersunds FK in 2014. He scored 10 goals in 19 matches in his only season for them in Superettan.

Swansea City

On 30 August 2014, Barrow completed his transfer to Premier League side Swansea City for an undisclosed fee, believed to be around £1.5 million, after being signed by manager Garry Monk.{{Cite news

"I like the way Swansea play football, it reminds me of how I used to play back home. I've watched a lot of their matches on TV and I was impressed with what I saw," he said on signing for Swansea. "They like to give young players a chance and hopefully I can progress here." Barrow went straight into the Under-21s squad. On 28 October 2014, Barrow was included on the bench for Swansea's League Cup match against Liverpool. He was assigned the squad number 58.

On 9 November 2014, Barrow made his Swansea City and Premier League debut against Arsenal, coming on in place of Marvin Emnes for the last 23 minutes of a 2–1 home win. He scored his first Swansea goal on 3 January 2015 in a 6–2 win at Tranmere Rovers in the third round of the FA Cup. Barrow signed a new four-year contract until June 2018. Barrow was loaned to Nottingham Forest on 11 March 2015 until the end of the 2014–15 season.

On 10 August 2015, Barrow was loaned to Blackburn Rovers on a three-month emergency loan. On 8 September, he was recalled by Swansea and remained a regular under manager Francesco Guidolin, Barrow scored his first league goal for Swansea in a 3–2 defeat at Bournemouth on 12 March 2016. He signed a new contract at Swansea on 7 July 2016, keeping him at the club until 2019 and also adding a £15 million pound release clause for the player.

Despite playing 20 times for Swansea during the first half of the 2016–17 season under Guidolin and Bob Bradley, after falling out of favour under new manager Paul Clement due to the signing of Luciano Narsingh, Barrow was made available for a transfer. He was strongly linked with a move to Championship side Newcastle United. On 31 January 2017, Barrow joined Leeds United on loan until the end of the 2016–17 season, with a view to a permanent deal. The move saw him link up with Monk. After failing to break into the first team, he was not purchased by Leeds. During his time at Swansea he became the first Gambian to score a Premier League goal.

Reading

On 21 July 2017, Swansea rejected a bid from Reading in the region of £1.25 million, before Barrow signed a four-year contract with Reading on 3 August for an undisclosed fee. He scored his first goal for Reading in a 2–1 home win against Aston Villa on 15 August.

Loan to Denizlispor

On 12 August 2019, Denizlispor announced the signing of Barrow on a season-long loan deal, with Reading confirming the deal a day later.

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors

On 20 July 2020, Reading confirmed the permanent transfer of Barrow to Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.

Al-Ahli

On 16 January 2023, Saudi First Division League club Al Ahli Saudi announced the signing of Barrow from Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.

Loan to Sivasspor

On 28 August 2023, Barrow joined Sivasspor on a one-year loan.

Abha

On 16 September 2024, Saudi First Division League club Abha.

Incheon United

On 3 February 2025, Barrow joined K League 2 club Incheon United.

International career

On 31 March 2015, Barrow was called up for the Sweden national under-21 football team, however he pulled out of the squad due to an injury he had sustained.

In May 2015, he was called up for the Gambia national football team, and on 22 May, he confirmed on his Twitter account that he had decided to play for his native Gambia. Barrow made his debut for Gambia during the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification in a goalless draw away to South Africa on 13 June 2015.

Barrow scored his first international goal on 27 March 2017, opening a 2–1 friendly win over the Central African Republic in Kenitra, Morocco.

He played in the 2021 Africa cup of Nations, his national team's first continental tournament, where they made a sensational quarter-final.

Style of play

Barrow is a pacey winger, who likes to run with the ball and take on defenders and create chances. He can also play as a forward. He revealed that with his style of play that 'I want to get the fans on their feet, and I fight until the end'.

Career statistics

Club

!colspan="2"|League cup !colspan="2"|Continental !colspan="2"|Total |- !Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals |- |Mjölby AI |2010 |Östergötland Västra |15||6||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||15||6 |- |Mjölby Södra |2011 |Östergötland Västra |19||23||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||19||23 |- |Norrköping |2012 |Allsvenskan |7||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||7||0 |- |Varbergs BoIS |2013 |Superettan |28||2||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||28||2 |- |Östersund |2014 |Superettan |19||10||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||19||10 |- |2014–15 |Premier League |11||0||2||1||0||0||colspan="2"|—||13||1 |- |2015–16 |Premier League |22||1||1||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||23||1 |- |2016–17 |Premier League |18||0||0||0||1||0||colspan="2"|—||19||0 |- !colspan="2"|Total !51!!1!!3!!1!!1!!0!!colspan="2"|—!!55!!2 |- |Nottingham Forest (loan) |2014–15 |Championship |4||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||4||0 |- |Blackburn Rovers (loan) |2015–16 |Championship |4||0||0||0||1||0||colspan="2"|—||5||0 |- |Leeds United (loan) |2016–17 |Championship |5||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||5||0 |- |2017–18 |Championship |41||10||2||0||2||0||colspan="2"|—||45||10 |- |2018–19 |Championship |35||4||1||0||1||0||colspan="2"|—||37||4 |- |2019–20 |Championship |1||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||1||0 |- !colspan="2"|Total !77!!14!!3!!0!!3!!0!!colspan="2"|—!!83!!14 |- |Denizlispor (loan) |2019–20 |Süper Lig |24||3||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||24||3 |- |2020 |K League 1 |15||2||3||0||colspan="2"|—||4||0||22||2 |- |2021 |K League 1 |20||3||0||0||colspan="2"|—||6||6||26||9 |- |2022 |K League 1 |28||13||3||1||colspan="2"|—||9||1||40||15 |- !colspan="2"|Total !63!!18!!6!!1!!colspan="2"|—!!19!!7!!88!!26 |- |Al-Ahli |2022–23 |Saudi First Division League |17||3||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||17||3 |- |Sivasspor (loan) |2023–24 |Süper Lig |11||1||1||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||12||1 |- |Incheon United |2025 |K League 2 |35||3||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||35||3 |- !colspan="3"|Career total !379!!84!!13!!2!!5!!0!!19!!7!!416!!93 |}

International

References

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2. "Modou Barrow". Premier League.
3. (February 2020). "Barrow: There's more to come from me". Swansea City A.F.C.}}{{Dead link.
4. "Barrow: "Jag önskar att mamma hade fått uppleva det här"". op.se.
5. Simon Gaskell. (26 August 2014). "Who is expected Swansea City signing Modou Barrow? All you need to know about the young striking sensation". walesonline.
6. (10 November 2014). "BARROW IS FIRST GAMBIAN TO PLAY IN EPL". Foroyaa Newspaper.
7. (10 November 2014). "Modou Barrow becomes first Gambian to play in Premier League". Gambia Sports.
8. (28 October 2014). "Liverpool 2 Swansea 1". BBC.
9. (9 November 2014). "Swansea 2–1 Arsenal". BBC Sport.
10. (September 2019). "Barrow pens new four-year deal at Swans". Swansea City A.F.C..
11. "BBC Sport – Gambian forward Modou Barrow signs long-term Swansea deal". BBC Sport.
12. Richardson, Nick. "Nottingham Forest complete signing of Swansea City forward Modou Barrow on loan until the end of the season".
13. rovers.co.uk. "Rovers have completed the loan signing of Swansea City's Modou Barrow.".
14. (12 March 2016). "Bournemouth 3–2 Swansea". BBC Sport.
15. (7 July 2016). "Swansea City: Modou Barrow agrees new three-year contract". BBC Sport.
16. (23 January 2017). "Who is Modou Barrow? Newcastle United transfer target likes to 'get fans on their feet'". Evening Chronicle.
17. (31 January 2017). "BARROW SECOND DEADLINE DAY SIGNING". BBC Sport.
18. (17 May 2017). "2017/18 RETAINED LIST". Leeds United F.C.
19. (21 July 2017). "Modou Barrow: Swansea City reject Reading bid for forward". BBC Sport.
20. (3 August 2017). "Barrow joins Royals on four-year deal". Reading F.C..
21. (15 August 2017). "Reading 2–1 Aston Villa". BBC.
22. (12 August 2019). "MODOU BARROW YUKATEL DENİZLİSPOR'DA". Denizlispor.
23. (13 August 2019). "Barrow agrees season-long loan switch to Turkey". Reading F.C..
24. (20 July 2020). "Mo Barrow completes permanent move to South Korean top flight". Reading F.C..
25. (16 January 2023). "#Welcome_Barrow 💚🎥". Al Ahli Saudi FC Instagram.
26. (28 August 2023). "Modou Barrow EMS Yapı Sivasspor'umuzda".
27. (16 September 2024). "رسميًا.. هدف الزمالك ينتقل إلى أبها السعودي".
28. (3 February 2025). "Ex-Premier League winger Barrow joins relegated K League club".
29. (22 May 2015). "Klart: Barrow väljer att spela för Gambia". Aftonbladet.
30. "South Africa 0 Gambia 0". cafonline.com.
31. (28 March 2017). "Modou Barrow posts Twitter message after hitting international landmark". Football Insider.
32. [https://www.cafonline.com/total-africa-cup-of-nations/matches/2021/2243295/lineups African Cup of Nations match]
33. "The Gambia name squad for first Nations Cup finals". BBC Sport.
34. "FREEVIEW | MO BARROW". LUTV.
35. "M.Barrow". Soccerway.
36. "Barrow, Modou". National Football Teams.