Nathan Aké was born on 18 February 1995 in Den Haag, Netherlands, to an Ivorian father and a Dutch mother. He came through ADO Den Haag's youth ranks before joining Chelsea's academy as a teenager. After loan spells at Reading, Watford and Bournemouth, Bournemouth signed him permanently in summer 2017 for €22.8 million. Three years later, in August 2020, Manchester City signed him for €45 million.
At Manchester City, Aké has been part of one of the most decorated teams in English football history. He has won the Premier League four times (2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24), the FA Cup, multiple League Cups, the UEFA Champions League in 2022–23, the UEFA Super Cup in 2023, the FIFA Intercontinental Cup in 2023, and the Community Shield in 2024. He also won the UEFA Europa League in 2012–13 with Chelsea early in his career.
His 2024–25 season was steady with 19 Premier League matches; 2025–26 has continued at the same level — 15 league matches and 5 UEFA Champions League appearances by mid-season, plus FA Cup and League Cup contributions, and a place in City's 2025 FIFA Club World Cup squad.
A two-footed defender with the versatility to play centre-back or left-back, the technical quality to play out from the back, and the leadership of a senior squad member, Aké has been a Netherlands regular for over a decade. He is one of the senior pillars of the Dutch back line, alongside Virgil van Dijk and Matthijs de Ligt, heading into the 2026 FIFA World Cup.