.jpg) Mejbri warming up forManchester United in 2022 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Hannibal Mejbri[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (2003-01-21)21 January 2003 (age 22)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Ivry-sur-Seine, France | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Burnley | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 28 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2017 | Paris FC | ||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Boulogne-Billancourt | ||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Monaco | ||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2021 | Manchester United | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021–2024 | Manchester United | 8 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | →Birmingham City (loan) | 38 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024 | →Sevilla (loan) | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Burnley | 29 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | France U16 | 12 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019 | France U17 | 3 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021– | Tunisia | 32 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:11, 16 March 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11:35, 25 March 2025 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
Hannibal Mejbri (Arabic:حَنِّبَعْل المجبري; born 21 January 2003) is a Tunisian professionalfootballer who plays as amidfielder forEFL Championship clubBurnley and theTunisia national team.
Mejbri joined theManchester United youth system in 2019 fromMonaco. He had previously spent time at theClairefontaine academy. He made his senior debut for the club in a Premier League game in May 2021. Mejbri spent the 2022–23 seasonon loan toChampionship clubBirmingham City; he was a regular in the side, and scored his first senior goal.
Born in France to Tunisian parents, Mejbri represented his birth country atunder-16 andunder-17 levels. He made his senior international debut for Tunisia in 2021.
Mejbri was born inIvry-sur-Seine (suburbanParis),[2] and grew up inthe city's 20th arrondissement.[3] He joinedParis FC in 2009.[4] In 2016, it was reported that he was being scouted by several English clubs, includingManchester United,Manchester City,Liverpool andArsenal, and spent time on trial with the latter.[5] He also spent time studying at the prestigiousINF Clairefontaine academy.[6] His elder brother, Abderrahmen Mejbri, is a sporting coach working for theVietnam national football team andPho Hien FC, a Vietnamese youth development club.[7]
Despite interest from English clubs, Mejbri had a short spell withBoulogne-Billancourt, before joiningMonaco 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 andBarcelona 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]
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 theManchester United U21 side againstSalford City in the2020–21 EFL Trophy on 9 September 2020.[16] He signed a new contract with United in March 2021.[17] On 20 May 2021, he won theDenzil Haroun Reserve Player of the Year award.[18] made his senior debut three days later in a 2–1 win overWolverhampton Wanderers in the final game of thePremier League season; he came on to replaceJuan Mata in the 82nd minute.[19]
On 29 August 2022, Mejbri joinedChampionship clubBirmingham City on loan for the2022–23 season.[20] On 10 February 2023, he scored his first senior goal, againstWest Bromwich Albion, with a surprise free-kick.[21]
On 16 September 2023, Mejbri scored his first Premier League goal for Manchester United in a 3–1 home defeat againstBrighton.[22]
On 15 January 2024, Manchester United sent Mejbri on loan toLa Liga clubSevilla until the end of theseason, with an optional buy-clause reported to be around €20 million.[23][24][25]
On 28 August 2024, Mejbri joinedEFL Championship clubBurnley on a four-year contract.[26]
Mejbri made 12 appearances for France atunder-16 level and three appearances atunder-17 level.[4]
He was first called for France at under-16 level in September 2018. He made his debut on 25 September 2018, in a 3–2 defeat toDenmark. He scored a goal on 22 April 2019, in a 4–0 win againstIvory Coast.[citation needed] In the same year, he was called up for the first time to the under-17 national team.[27] He scored two goals on his debut for the team on 22 October 2019, in an 8–0 win againstGibraltar in2020 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualification.[28]
In May 2021, Mejbri was called up to theTunisia national team for the first time,[29] committing his international future to his parents' native nation.[30] He made his debut on 5 June 2021, coming on at the start of the second half against theDR Congo.[31]
He was selected for the2021 FIFA Arab Cup, making his first appearance againstMauritania in the first group match and being namedman of the match in the third group match against theUnited Arab Emirates.[32] He was once again named man of the match in the semi-final againstEgypt.[33] He participated in almost all (88 minutes) of the regular time of the Arab Cup final,[34] before being replaced byMohamed Ali Ben Romdhane.[35]
He was twice named African revelation of the year at the Africa d'Or awards, in 2021 and 2022.[36][37] On 14 November 2022, he was selected byJalel Kadri for Tunisia's squad for the2022 FIFA World Cup.[38] On 22 November 2022, he came on as a substitute forYoussef Msakni in the 80th minute during the match betweenTunisia andDenmark inGroup D of the 2022 World Cup.[39]
Mejbri was not chosen for the2023 Africa Cup of Nations.[40] ManagerJalel Kadri said that Mejbri requested to be left out due to difficulties at Manchester United.[41][42]
A composed midfielder on the ball, head of first-team development at Manchester United,Nicky Butt, compared Mejbri to his former teammatesDavid Beckham andRoy Keane for his leadership skills. CoachNeil Ryan has also praised Mejbri, stating he has high hopes for the young playmaker.[43] Mejbri is often described as an energetic, dynamic and determined player on the pitch. He does not hesitate to participate in defensive phases and to press the opponent, endowed with significant aggressiveness.[44]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Manchester United U21 | 2019–20[45] | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 2020–21[46] | — | — | — | — | 4[c] | 1 | 4 | 1 | ||||||
| 2021–22[47] | — | — | — | — | 1[c] | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | — | — | — | — | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | ||||||
| Manchester United | 2020–21[46] | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| 2021–22[47] | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24[48] | Premier League | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | — | 10 | 1 | ||
| Total | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 13 | 1 | |||
| Birmingham City (loan) | 2022–23[45] | Championship | 38 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 41 | 1 | |||
| Sevilla (loan) | 2023–24[48] | La Liga | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
| Burnley | 2024–25[49] | Championship | 29 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 81 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 96 | 3 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tunisia | 2021 | 9 | 0 |
| 2022 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 32 | 0 | |
Tunisia
Individual
Tunisia squads | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
