Pepín’s biography, net worth, fact, career, awards and life story

José Ndong Machín Dicombo (born 14 August 1996), commonly known as Pepín, is an Equatoguinean professional footballer who plays for Swiss club FC Lugano, on loan from A.S. Roma, as a central midfielder.

Football career

Born in Bata, Litoral Province, Pepín has started his youth career for Club Esportiu La Floresta, in Tarragona, Spain. In the middle of 2004, he joined FC Barcelona’s youth setup and he remained there the next four seasons, coming back to La Floresta for one year. After a stint in Cambrils UCF, Pepín signed for Gimnàstic de Tarragona, where he has relaunched his career as a young prospect. Two years later, in 2012, he and Aitor Embela, his teammate for Equatorial Guinea U16, were signed for Málaga CF.

On 2 November 2014, Pepín made his senior debut with the reserves, coming on as a late substitute in a 2–0 home win against Villacarrillo CF for the Tercera División championship.

In late January 2015, Pepín was transferred to A.S. Roma, being incorporated to the Primavera side. He played friendly matches with the first team in the middle of 2015 and was an unused substitute in several 2015–16 Serie A matches.

International career

Pepín made his full international debut for Equatorial Guinea on 12 November 2015, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 0–2 loss against Morocco.

Career statistics

International

Personal life

A few months after joining FC Barcelona, Pepín confessed to being a fan of arch-rivals Real Madrid. He is the nephew of former footballer Juan Carlos Ecomba, who has played in Argentina for Chacarita and Nueva Chicago, among other clubs.