Hannibal Mejbri

Hannibal Mejbri (Arabic: حَنِّبَعْل المجبري; born 21 January 2003) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL Championship club Birmingham City, on loan from Premier League club Manchester United, and the Tunisia national team.

Hannibal Mejbri
Mejbri with Manchester United in 2022
Personal information
Full name Hannibal Mejbri[1]
Date of birth (2003-01-21) 21 January 2003
Place of birth Ivry-sur-Seine, France
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Birmingham City (on loan from Manchester United)
Number 6
Youth career
2009–2017 Paris FC
2017–2018 Boulogne-Billancourt
2018–2019 Monaco
2019–2021 Manchester United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021– Manchester United 3 (0)
2022– → Birmingham City (loan) 25 (1)
International career‡
2018–2019 France U16 12 (1)
2019 France U17 3 (2)
2021– Tunisia 20 (0)
Honours
Men's football
Representing  Tunisia
FIFA Arab Cup
Runner-up2021 Qatar
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:50, 14 February 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17:00, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

Mejbri joined the Manchester United youth system in 2019 from AS Monaco. He had previously spent time at the Clairefontaine academy. He made his senior debut for the club in a Premier League game in May 2021.

Born in France to Tunisian parents, Mejbri represented his birth country at under-16 and under-17 levels. He made his senior international debut for Tunisia in 2021.

Early life

Mejbri was born in Ivry-sur-Seine (suburban Paris), France,[3] and joined Paris FC in 2009.[4] In 2016, it was reported that he was being scouted by several English clubs, including Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal, and spent time on trial with the latter.[5] He also spent time studying at the prestigious INF Clairefontaine academy.[6] His elder brother, Abderrahmen Mejbri, is the current sporting coach working in Pho Hien FC, a Vietnamese youth development club that Hannibal once visited and trained with.[7]

Club career

Early career

Despite interest from English clubs, Mejbri had a short spell with Athletic Club de Boulogne-Billancourt, before joining AS Monaco in 2018 for a fee of €1 million.[6] Although initially impressed by Monaco's youth development,[6] Mejbri became disillusioned by the Monégasque club within a year of signing, with his parents claiming that the Ligue 1 side had breached contract agreements.[8]

In 2019, he was being tracked by clubs across Europe, including the German, French and Spanish champions, Bayern Munich,[8] Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona respectively.[9][10] Mejbri said that he was experiencing the "dark side of football" prior to signing with Manchester United and that he had not played football for nearly four months. Before signing, he was back home in Quartier des Amandiers and was training on his own with his sibling.[11]

Manchester United

On 11 August 2019, Premier League side Manchester United announced on their website that they had reached an agreement with Monaco to sign Mejbri, with the youngster reportedly rejecting moves to other English clubs.[12] The fee paid by the Manchester club was believed to be around €5 million, possibly rising to €10 million in add-ons.[8][13]

Mejbri settled quickly into Manchester United's youth teams, progressing to the under-23 squad despite still being 17.[14][15] Mejbri made his debut playing for the Manchester United U21 side against Salford City in the 2020–21 EFL Trophy on 9 September 2020.[16] He signed a new contract with United in March 2021.[17] On 20 May 2021, he won the Denzil Haroun Reserve Player of the Year award.[18]

Mejbri made his senior debut for United in a 2–1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in the final game of the Premier League season on 23 May 2021; he came on to replace Juan Mata in the 82nd minute.[19]

Loan to Birmingham City

On 29 August 2022, Mejbri joined Championship club Birmingham City on loan for the 2022–23 season.[20] On 10 February 2023, he scored his first senior goal, against West Bromwich Albion, with a surprise free-kick.[21]

International career

France

Mejbri made 12 appearances for France at under-16 level and three appearances at under-17 level.[4]

Tunisia

Eligible to represent Tunisia through his parents,[8][22] with his father, Lotfi, reportedly having played in Tunisia,[13] Mejbri was called up to the Tunisia national team for the first time in May 2021, committing his international future to the nation of his parents' birth.[23] He debuted in a 1–0 friendly win over DR Congo on 5 June 2021.[24]

Hannibal made his 2021 FIFA Arab Cup debut, where he started in all five of Tunisia's games as they progressed to the final. Hannibal put in two man-of-the-match performances against United Arab Emirates and Egypt in the group stage and semi-finals respectively.[25] Hannibal started in the final against Algeria on 18 December 2021, eventually losing 2–0 to Algeria to end as runners-up.[26]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 14 February 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Manchester United U21 2020–21[27] —————4[lower-alpha 1]141
2021–22[28] —————1[lower-alpha 1]010
Total ————5151
Manchester United 2020–21[27] Premier League 10000000—10
2021–22[28] Premier League 20000000—20
Total 30000000—30
Birmingham City (loan) 2022–23[29] Championship 25130———281
Career total 28130000051362
  1. Appearance(s) in the EFL Trophy

International
As of match played 22 November 2022[30]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Tunisia 202190
2022110
Total200

Honours

Tunisia

Individual

References
  1. "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Squad list: Tunisia (TUN)" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 29. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  2. "Hannibal Mejbri: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  3. "Profile". asmonaco.com. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  4. "Profile". fff.fr (in French). Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  5. "Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal ALL tracking former Gunners trialist Hannibal Mejbri". talksport.com. 23 November 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  6. Pruneta, Laurent (9 June 2018). "Hannibal Mejbri : "J'ai appris à vivre avec de la jalousie autour de moi"" [Hannibal Mejbri: "I learned to live with jealousy around me"]. leparisien.fr (in French). Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  7. "Football : l'Ancien éducateur de l'ACBB tente l'aventure au Viêt Nam". 29 April 2019.
  8. Duncker, Charlotte (11 August 2019). "Who is Hannibal Mejbri? Profile of Manchester United new signing". manchestereveningnews.co.uk. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  9. Jones, Matt (11 August 2019). "Manchester United Confirm Signing of Hannibal Mejbri from Monaco". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  10. "Manchester United confident of signing Hannibal Mejbri from Monaco". skysports.com. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  11. 1 vs 1 : Hannibal Mejbri « Avant de signer à Manchester, j'avais arrêté le foot pendant 4 mois », retrieved 27 November 2022
  12. Marshall, Adam (11 August 2019). "United accounce new academy deals". manutd.com. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  13. "Who is Hannibal Mejbri? Man Utd's new 16-year-old signing from AS Monaco". standard.co.uk. 11 August 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  14. Dawson, Rob (18 April 2020). "Forget 'Sideshow Bob' sneers, Manchester United's Mejbri wants last laugh". espn.com. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  15. "Hannibal Mejbri – why Manchester United fans are so excited". thepeoplesperson.com. 7 April 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  16. Plant, Michael (9 September 2020). "Manchester United Under-21s hit six at Salford". ManUtd.com. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  17. "Hannibal commits future to Manchester United by signing new long-term contract". Manchester Evening News. 15 March 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  18. "Hannibal Mejbri named Manchester United Under-23s Player of the Year". Manchester Evening News. 20 May 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  19. Rose, Gary (23 May 2021). "Wolves 1-2 Manchester United: Nuno Espirito Santo beaten in final game". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  20. "Hannibal loan to Championship club". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 29 August 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  21. Scott, Ged. "Birmingham City 2–0 West Bromwich Albion". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  22. Critchley, Mark (6 February 2020). "Why Manchester United wonderkid Hannibal Mejbri deserves your attention". independent.co.uk. Archived from the original on 9 May 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  23. Marshall, Adam (28 May 2021). "Hannibal's international future confirmed". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  24. "Match Report of Tunisia vs Congo DR - 2021-06-05 - FIFA Friendlies - Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com.
  25. Stephen, Killen (17 December 2021). "Hannibal Mejbri wants Arab Cup displays to kickstart Manchester United career". manchestereveningnews.co.uk. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  26. Findlater, James (18 December 2021). "Manchester United starlet Hannibal Mejbri suffers Arab Cup final heartbreak". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  27. "Games played by Hannibal Mejbri in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  28. "Games played by Hannibal Mejbri in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  29. "H. Mejbri". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  30. "Hannibal Mejbri". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  31. Railston, Steven (15 June 2022). "Manchester United's Hannibal Mejbri celebrates winning first international trophy with Tunisia". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  32. "Hannibal wins Denzil Haroun Reserve-Team Player of the Year 2021". ManUtd.com. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  33. "Africa d'Or 2021: Hannibal Mejbri élu révélation africaine de l'année!". foot-africa.com. 2 January 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  34. Boubaker, Saber Ben (31 July 2022). "Prix Africa d'Or : Hannibal Mejbri élu révélation africaine 2022". Sport By TN (in French). Retrieved 18 January 2023.
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