This is taken from the GFFN 100, our leading 150-page FREE publication ranking the best 100 players in France, see the full list and read every profile right here.
The depth of footballing talent produced by the city often sees the Parisian streets romanticised. After all, the multicultural, densely populated spaces make for the ideal youth team breeding ground, where technical dexterity and individual expression are permitted to flourish. However, whilst the clamour often focuses on the crème de la crème, à la, Kylian Mbappé and Marseille’s Zinedine Zidane, there is a harsh reality reserved for everybody else. The lucky ones are hand-picked by some of the world’s finest academies, others are forced to take the road less travelled, or condemned to life away from football. It isn’t always easy being a boy from the banlieue, but Nordi Mukiele’s story shows that, by remaining patient, everything may still come your way when the time is right.
Born in Montreuil in the eastern suburbs of the French capital to Congolese parents, Mukiele enjoyed an auspicious footballing childhood growing up at Paris FC alongside the likes of Ibrahima Konaté, Manu Koné, and Axel Disasi. “He was a good player for us” recalls his under-13 coach Marc Moesta, the youngster having displayed an array of positional, defensive, and on-ball abilities. “Unfortunately for him, at that time, he was a decent player but nothing more. He did not necessarily stand out”, added Moesta. A release from Paris was seemingly imminent and Mukiele would have been forgiven had he spiralled into much murkier places, but that simply wasn’t in his character. Moesta noted, “he was incredibly hardworking, determined, and knew exactly where he wanted to go”. An admirable mindset for a 15-year-old and he remained in demand, second-division Laval pipping six-time French champions, Bordeaux, to the youngster’s signature.
What Mukiele lacked in pure talent, he was determined to make up with hard work. Whilst Mukiele was keen to focus on his football at Laval, loneliness and homesickness were difficult to ignore for a 17-year-old living away from Paris for the first time. However, knuckling down on the pitch whilst reaching out to those who cared, Mukiele steered his Laval team to the semi-finals of the Coupe Gambardella – France’s renowned youth cup.
Capped for France’s under-18s as an astute and professional youth teamer, Laval’s head of training, Stéphane Moreau, vouched for Mukiele to be integrated into the first team. Though head coach Marco Simone disagreed, the young Parisian had plenty of admirers at Laval, with fellow youth coach Bernard Mottais adding that “Nordi was too good for the youth team,” evidently awed at his aggressive, physical, and intelligent presence in the side’s backline. Simone was eventually persuaded and Mukiele made his professional debut for Laval in Ligue 2 in a 2-2 draw with Auxerre, signing his first professional contract later that year before playing 39 games for the Mayenne outfit. Identified by Ouest-France as one of the region’s outstanding young players, the elite finally came calling and Mukiele signed a five-year contract with Montpellier.
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It took just one Montpellier B team outing to convince his superiors of his ability before making 50 appearances for La Paillade. But this time things were different. Performing at the elite level in one of Europe’s top-five leagues meant it wasn’t just French scouts who noticed the developing youngster and Mukiele’s progression through France’s youth teams as he routinely turned out for the under-19s, the 20s, and 21s. RB Leipzig, home of the famed Red Bull academy, offered an opportunity too good to turn down and Mukiele joined Leipzig for €16m in 2018, the largest sale in Montpellier’s history, whilst Laval got their cut too, receiving at least €1.5m.
Mukiele rapidly established himself as a regular for the title-chasing club. Proactive by nature and adept at reading on-field situations, it was in eastern Germany that the young Frenchman also displayed his versatility. Traditionally a centre-back due to his strength, excellent passing range, and sturdy character, he has often also been deployed as a right-back before playing as a midfielder for the first time against Augsburg earlier this year, assisting three times in a 4-0 win.
Enjoying regular European forays too, Mukiele played 100 matches in his Bundesliga career, winning 59. But the perfect ending came when the Parisian won the DFB-Pokal with Leipzig in May. His career would then go full circle via a move to Paris Saint-Germain, with the now-25-year-old becoming a fixture in the star-studded squad, deployed alongside the likes of Achraf Hakimi and Sergio Ramos. His international debut for France last year signalled that this is a man firmly where he wants to be.
Mukiele’s list of strengths neatly parallels the key prerequisites for a modern centre-back. He retains a mightily strong physical presence whilst posing a threat in the air, acts as a clean and well-timed tackler and frequently expresses an accomplished eye for reading the game while exerting commanding control as a progressive passer and ball carrier. Occasionally susceptible to overcommitting and leaving gaping holes behind the defensive line, there is certainly room for improvement but with refined technical quality such as his, Mukiele’s steady development has been nigh on perfect.
At 15, it seemed the dream was over. But, at 25, Mukiele’s playing for PSG and France and finally seems at peace with himself. It’s easy to understand why.
James Westmacott | GFFN