Christopher Nkunku

Paris Saint-Germain

Nkunku joined the Paris Saint-Germain youth system in 2010. He was a member of the youth team who were runners-up in the 2015–16 UEFA Youth League. He made his professional debut at the age of 18 on 8 December 2015, in a UEFA Champions League match against Shakhtar Donetsk, replacing Lucas Moura after 87 minutes in a 2–0 home win. He scored his first professional goal in a 7–0 home win against Bastia in the Coupe de France on 7 January 2017. On 10 March 2018, he scored his first brace as a professional, in a 5–0 win against Metz.

RB Leipzig

On 18 July 2019, RB Leipzig announced Nkunku's signing on a five-year deal for an approximate €13 million transfer fee plus bonuses. He made his debut for the club on 11 August in a DFB-Pokal match against VfL Osnabrück, which ended in a 3–2 victory. His Bundesliga debut followed a week later, scoring his first competitive goal on the first matchday of the 2019–20 season in a 4–0 win over regional rivals Union Berlin. On 22 February 2020, Nkunku provided four assists in a 5–0 victory over Schalke 04. In doing so, he became just the second player in recent Bundesliga history to register four assists in a single match, after Szabolcs Huszti in 2012. On 15 September 2021, Nkunku scored a hat-trick for Leipzig in their 6–3 defeat to Manchester City in a 2021–22 UEFA Champions League group stage match. He was the first player in the club's history to score a hat-trick in the UEFA Champions League. In May…

Nkunku was born in France and is of Congolese descent. He was a French youth international, representing the country at under-16, under-19, under-20, and under-21 levels. He made three appearances for the under-20 team at the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Nkunku was called up to the senior France squad for the first time for friendly matches against Ivory Coast and South Africa on 25 and 29 March 2022, respectively. He made his debut as a starter in the game against Ivory Coast. On 9 November 2022, he was named in the 25-man French squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. On 15 November, he sustained a knee injury after colliding with Eduardo Camavinga during training at Clairefontaine, which forced him to drop out prior to the competition. On 10 October 2024, Nkunku scored his first goal for the national team in a 4–1 away win against Israel.

Nkunku is known for his 1v1 abilities due to his dribbling skills and burst of pace which enable opportunities for him to separate from his mark with space to look for a pass or shot. He is a right-footed attacker who can play centrally or out wide. Nkunku is known for a unique goal celebration where he inflates a balloon in the color of his team (red during his time at RB Leipzig and AC Milan, and blue at Chelsea) which he usually carries in his sock. He has explained that the celebration is for his son, who likes balloons.

Christopher Alan Nkunku was born on 14 November 1997 in Lagny-sur-Marne, Seine-et-Marne. He went to El Francis Assis Secondary school and he began playing football with AS Marolles as a six-year-old. In 2009, he joined Fontainebleau, where he was spotted by scouts of several professional clubs. Despite his young age and childlike physique, he was noted for "his speed, his technique and his vision of the game", as recalled by Norbert Boj in 2020, former head of the Fontainebleau football school. He would line up in all positions across the midfield, a versatility he, according to another coach at the club, owed to his "technical prowess, obviously, but especially his intelligence of play". Due to being considered too young and light, Nkunku was not signed by Lens, Le Havre, and Monaco, clubs where he had been on trials. He eventually signed with Paris Saint-Germain, where he was able to progress through the youth sides of INF Clairefontaine at under-15 level. Spending the weekdays at Clairefontaine and playing only on weekends with Paris Saint-Germain, he made the permanent move to the French powerhouse at the age of fifteen.