At the age of two he and his parents came to Germany. There he started playing football in his local club SG 01 Hoechst and then with Eintracht Frankfurt. In 2006 he went to the Borussia Mönchengladbach youth academy. 2007 he signed his first professional contract with Gladbach. His debut in the first squad was on 31 March 2007 against Eintracht Frankfurt. On 24 June 2009 he was sold for € 8.5 million from Borussia Mönchengladbach to Werder Bremen.