Warren Zaire-Emery: The Record Setting French Wonderkid

Warren Zaire-Emery has continued to impress with his performances on the pitch. The record-breaking Frenchman leads a contingent of young stars hoping to leave their mark in the upcoming UEFA Euro 2024 in Germany.

His ability to read the game and break up plays while also dictating play bears some similarities to former France legends Patrick Vieira, Claude Makelele and N’golo Kante. Join us as we immerse ourselves in the footballing adventure of Warren Zaire-Emery thus far.

Player Profile – Warren Zaire-Emery

Warren Zaire-Emery is one of several talented starlets in the PSG squad such as Bradley Barcola and the club’s youngest-ever player.

He is also the club’s youngest-ever goalscorer and the youngest PSG player in UEFA Champions League history to start a knockout phase match. He achieved all these feats and won his maiden Ligue 1 title when he was just 16.

Zaïre-Emery represented France from U16 to U21 level and is the youngest captain of the U21s in the last 3 decades. He also made his senior debut for France, becoming the country’s second-youngest goalscorer and third-youngest debutant.

Player Profile Overview

Early Life

Warren Zaire-Emery was born in Montreuil and he grew up in Ile-de-France. He was born to Franck Emery, an ex-footballer who played with Red Star in Seine-Saint-Denis. Zaire-Emery’s mother is Gessie Zaire from Martinique, West Indies.

His footballing adventure began with Aubervilliers, where He wowed fans, coaches and scouts with His performances for the club. Like every prodigious talent, he shone brightly in every grade level he played for before eventually sign for the biggest club in France.

Warren Zaire-Emery’s Style of Play

Zaire is a defensive midfielder with remarkable technical abilities, He excels at winning the ball and launching the plays. He dominates play from the base of midfield, HIs style of play provides a structure and balance to the midfield.

His maturity shines when plays and maintains a calm and disciplined demeanour despite any pressure. He can read the game effectively breaking up opposition play and is capable of scoring the spectacular also.

Youth Career

Zaire-Emery started his youth career playing at Aubervilliers when he was 4 years old. Due to his undeniable talents, Warren Zaire-Emery became a standout player in Aubervilliers. His displays quickly grabbed the attention of the scouting department at Paris Saint-Germain,

After scouting Warren Zaire-Emery, PSG quickly swung into action signing the talented player in 2014. His performances impressed a lot of people including his coaches at various levels. During his time with the PSG youth sides Zaire-Emery always played above his age categories.

Zaire-Emery was the youngest player of the under-19 squad and also became a key player of the U19s despite just being 15 years old. 

His performance attracted a lot of interest from several top European club sides when he was still yet to sign his first professional contract. Subsequently, He was called up to the first team during the 2021-21 season by Mauricio Pochettino still aged 15.

Senior Career

However, it was not until 2022 that he signed his first professional contract and made his debut for PSG. Zaire-Emery’s debut came in a 2-0 friendly Quevilly-Rouen under Christopher Galtier. The new head coach also included the talented Frenchman in the club’s pre-season tour of Japan.

Warren Zaire-Emery became the youngest PSG player in history to feature in a Ligue 1 match in a 5-0 away win over Clermont. He soon made his UEFA Champions League debut as a substitute in a 7–2 home victory over Maccabi Haifa.

His appearance in that match made him the youngest player to appear in the Champions League for PSG. Furthermore, He also became the youngest PSG player to start in the Coupe de France in a 3-1 win away to Chateauroux.

Zaire-Emery also became the youngest Paris Saint-Germain player to start in Ligue 1 against Rennes. His first goal came in a 3–1 victory against Montpellier. His goal made him PSG’s youngest-ever goalscorer.

Warren Zaire-Emery became the youngest player to start a Champions League knockout game at the age of 16 years and 343 days in a 1–0 loss to Bayern Munich. However, that record has since been broken by Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal in the Champions League knockout fixture against Napoli.

Warren Zaire-Emery: A Key Feature For PSG

After winning his first Ligue 1 title with PSG at the end of the 2022-23 season, became a key player for PSG recording his first assist for the club with a pass for Marco Asensio in a 3–1 win over Lens. The assist made him the youngest PSG player to record an assist in Ligue 1.

Zaire-Emery made an assist for Marco Asensio against Newcastle making him the youngest French and PSG player to record an assist in the UEFA Champions League. He improved on that by becoming the youngest player to reach three assists in the competition when he provided two assists against AC Milan.

After becoming the youngest player to make twenty starts for PSG, Zaïre-Emery scored his first goal of the season. The goal was a spectacular strike into the top corner from outside the box, in a Ligue 1 fixture against Brest. His first goal at the Parc des Princes came in a 3–0 victory against Montpellier.

Warren Zaire-Emery became the youngest French goalscorer in the Champions League after He scored away against Borussia Dortmund. The goal helped Paris Saint-Germain to qualify for the knockout phase of the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League competition.

International career

Zaire-Emery’s international career started with the French U16s. He was also part of the France U17 squad that participated and won the UEFA Under-17 Euro. He contributed to the success of the French team by chipping in with two goals in the tournament.

Legendary Les Bleu striker Thierry Henry called Warren Zaire-Emery to the U21s when the took over the reins. Henry also picked Zaire-Emery as the captain for the U21 ties against Denmark and Slovenia, making him the youngest U21 captain in three decades.

Warren Zaire-Emery became the youngest player to debut for France since 1914 and also the second youngest goalscorer in French history when he scored against Gibraltar. His first goal came in the largest recorded victory for Les Blue.

However, the French sensation suffered an ankle injury after he was tackled by Gibraltarian defender Ethan Santos as he scored the goal. The injury kept him out of action until the end of 2023, He returned to action against Nantes after three weeks out and has since returned to being a key player for PSG.

Personal life Of Lamine Yamal.

Zaire-Emery is one of the four children of Frank and Gessie Emery. His brothers are Wesley, William, and Wayne Emery. Although Zaire-Emery is a superstar of world acclaim, He is still a student and is still grounded and diligent in his studies.

Upon receiving his international call-up for the senior side, He stated that He did not celebrate as he was busy doing his assignment before heading to school. On 11 October, the English newspaper The Guardian named Zaire-Emery as one of the best players born in 2006 globally.

Conclusion

The record-setting PSG star has thrilled PSG fans around the world with his record-breaking efforts. After starring for PSG and the French youth sides at such a young age, a lot is expected of him. We at Footballers’ Biographies are expecting him to play a starring for Les Blue alongside Kylian Mbappe in Germany at the UEFA Euro 2024.