Warren Zaire-Emery Makes PSG Start as Mbappe Earns Time to Recover
The French striker is sidelined by an injury, which paves the way for the teenage midfielder to take the field against Bayern Munich. In March 2023 he will be 17, but for now he is 16. Warren Zaire-Emery debuts in the knockout stage of the Champions League, starting in the first leg between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich. This moment serves as a decisive test for him and for football observers around the world.
Who is Warren Zaire-Emery, the 16-year-old replacing Mbappé for PSG against Bayern in the Champions League
Just over an hour before kickoff at the Parc des Princes, UEFA confirmed the lineups for the round of 16 clash and officially announced that Zaire-Emery would start for PSG for the first time in a competitive match. He has logged 11 minutes previously but never started a match in the league. It is a bold moment to trust a young player in a key continental tie, especially since Mbappé is unavailable due to injury, leaving Zaire-Emery to step in as a full participant in Ligue 1 alongside his veteran teammates.
Zaire-Emery joined PSG at the age of eight and has grown into one of the club’s brightest youth products. The pundit and fans alike have watched him steadily rise through the ranks as he moved into first-team action in the 2022-2023 season.
What do people ask when a 16-year-old makes a starting appearance in the Champions League? Warren Zaire-Emery did just that in the round of 16 against Bayern Munich, and the Parisians lined up as shown in the official XI. This historic moment was shared and celebrated on social media by outlets such as Goal Spain.
He was born on March 8, 2006 in Montreuil, France. Standing 1.78 meters tall, he primarily operates as a pivot but has been deployed as a right midfielder or more advanced midfielder as needed by coach Christophe Galtier.
Since the 2022-2023 season, he has started to accumulate minutes with PSG’s first team, setting several records along the way. At 16 years old, he became the youngest PSG player to appear in a Champions League match and the youngest to start in the club’s history in European competition. His professional debut for PSG came on August 6, 2022 in Ligue 1, when he replaced Marco Verratti in the 82nd minute in a 5-0 victory over Clermont Foot 63. Earlier that season he had become the youngest PSG player to score a league goal in a 3-1 win against Montpellier.
At 16 years and 343 days, Zaire-Emery set another milestone by becoming the youngest player in Champions League knockout-stage history to start a match against Bayern on February 14, 2023. His role with the French youth teams has also been notable, as he is praised for his reading of the game, technical skill, vision, and creativity that help his teammates and himself reach the attacking areas. Some observers have even drawn comparisons to Jude Bellingham of Borussia Dortmund.
Source attribution: Goal