Who is Warren Zaire-Emery? Meet PSG's record-breaking wonderkid who is the youngest player in the history of the UEFA Champions League knockouts
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) wonderkid Warren Zaire-Emery made UEFA Champions League history as he became the youngest player to feature in the competition's knockout stages. He achieved the feat after being named in the Parisian club's starting XI at the age of 16 years and 343 days against Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Round of 16 clash at Parc des Princes.
While PSG's inability to integrate their youth products into the first team has been well documented, Zaire-Emery is certainly an exception. The player, who operates as a versatile midfielder, has made 14 appearances for the senior team this term, even scoring two goals.
Given the fact that he has managed to make a place for himself in a crowded midfield, Zaire-Emery's ability needs lauding. Christophe Galtier recently heaped praise on the youngster, saying (via GOAL):
“I have to have some competition in the squad. If a 16 and a half or 17 year old is more capable of playing than the other players, they will play.”
Our starting eleven for #PSGFCB at the Parc des Princes! ⏳
#UCL I @EASPORTSFIFA https://t.co/1PVsQpyIWy
At the time of writing, the score for the PSG vs. Bayern Munich game was level at 0-0 at half-time.
PSG player Warren Zaire-Emery's father once explained how his son got into football
Zaire-Emery's father, Frank, spotted the player's talent by pure coincidence. He once told RMC Sport:
"I had gone to Trappes for a tournament with my cousin, and I had brought Warren with me. There was a ball coming towards me, and I clipped a 30-yard pass in the air towards Warren, who cushioned the ball on his chest as if he had been practising it every day. Me and my cousin looked at each other and we said: ''That's not bad at all!'"
Being a football coach himself, Franck further added:
"I had the adult players do drills and sometimes when they couldn't do it right, I would ask Warren to show them how to do it, even though he was only nine years old!"
16-year-old Warren Zaire-Emery starts for PSG vs Bayern Munich tonight in the Champions League -becoming the youngest starter in a UCL knockout game EVER.
He was born in 2006 🤯 https://t.co/3tzgvpUhQK
Zaire-Emery eventually joined PSG's youth ranks. Bafode Diakite, one of his early career coaches, told RMC:
"We felt that him being there was becoming counterproductive for the team, because when the ball was lost, Warren compensated for everything, rebalanced everything and the other players made less effort, I had to remind the other players that Warren was not the firefighter on duty."
From being a prospect, the player has certainly grown into a reliable player as he plays alongside Lionel Messi and Neymar on the pitch in a UEFA Champions League clash.