Neal Maupay

Nice

Maupay began his youth career at US Valbonne at age six in 2002, before moving into the Nice academy in 2007. He progressed through the ranks into the reserve team at the beginning of the 2012–13 season, scoring four goals in three early-season matches before receiving his maiden call into the first team squad on 15 September 2012, for a Ligue 1 match versus Brest. At age 16 years and 32 days, Maupay made his professional debut as an injury-time substitute for Éric Bauthéac during the 3–2 win. He was a regular inclusion in the first team squad from October 2012 through to March 2013 and signed a new two-and-a-half-year contract in January 2013. Maupay's season was ended by a torn cruciate ligament suffered during a reserve match on 14 April 2013. Maupay made 19 appearances and scored four goals during the 2012–13 season and when making his Ligue 1 debut and scoring his first Ligue 1 goal, he became the second-youngest player to achieve both feats. His first Ligue 1 goal came in the stoppage time of a 3–2 win over Evian, aged 16 years and 123 days, to be the youngest scorer in the 21st century. Despite his breakthrough into the first team squad during the 2012–13 season and after recovering from injury, Maupay was out of favour with manager Claude Puel during 2013–14 and 2014–15 seasons, which ultimately caused his departure in August 2015. He made 53 appearances and scored nine goals during three seasons as a first team player at the Allianz Riviera.

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Maupay won 35 caps and scored 16 goals for France at U16, U17, U19 and U21 level. He was a member of France's 2015 UEFA European U19 Championship squad and made two appearances in the tournament. He is also eligible to play for the Argentina national team through his mother. In February 2022, Maupay reportedly put in a personal request to Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni to consider selecting him for the national team.

Maupay's footballing idol is Zinedine Zidane. He stated that he "can play out wide or as a number 10, but my favoured position is striker. I like to play down the middle and use my pace to get in behind defences" and "I'm used to looking after the ball and holding off defenders".

Maupay was born in Versailles and moved to the Côte d'Azur with his family at age five. He is of Argentinian descent on his mother's side and holds both French and Argentinian nationalities since 2013. He has the habit of reading before matches. In June 2020, Maupay was targeted with death threats after scoring a last-minute winning goal against Arsenal. A joint investigation by the Premier League and authorities in Singapore identified the culprit as 19-year-old Derek Ng, who was given a nine-month probation order. This was the first prosecution outside the UK for abusing a Premier League player.