Eduardo Celmi Camavinga (born 10 November 2002) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

for

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

club

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

. Born in Angola, he plays for the France national team. Camavinga began his career in

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

with

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

, making his senior debut at the age of 16, and quickly established himself as a regular first-team player. In 2021, he signed for Real Madrid for a fee of €31 million, and over the following seasons, he helped the club win two

– Champions League doubles in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

and

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

. Born in Angola, to Congolese refugees, Camavinga moved to France at a young age, eventually representing the country at under-21 level. He made his first senior appearance for the France national team in 2020 at the age of 17, becoming the nation's youngest debutant in over a century. He was part of the French squad that finished runners-up at the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

Early life

Camavinga was born in a

refugee camp A refugee camp is a temporary Human settlement, settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for in ...

in Cabinda, Angola in 2002. His parents, Celestino Camavinga(Congolese born in Cabinda) and Sofia Simão (also born in Cabinda), had fled the civil war in Congo before his birth to a refugee camp in Miconge. He has five siblings. His family moved to France when he was two. They eventually settled in

Fougères Fougères (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Foujerr'') is a Communes of France, commune and a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine Departments of France, department, located in Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, no ...

, where he grew up. He did

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

for a time before giving it up to focus solely on football. In 2013, the Camavingas' house was burnt down, destroying most of the family's property. Camavinga stated that this was a source of motivation that pushed him to pursue a career in football and help his family. On 7 July 2020, he obtained the ''

Baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...

'' ES (Economic and Social) without mention.

Club career

Rennes

Camavinga joined

' youth system when he was 11. He signed his first professional contract on 14 December 2018, at the age of 16 years and one month, becoming the youngest ever professional for the club at that time. He made his professional debut for Rennes in a 3–3

tie with

Angers Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou until the French Revolution. The i ...

on 6 April 2019, becoming the youngest player to ever play for Rennes' first team, at 16 years and six months old. On 18 August 2019, Camavinga recorded an assist and was awarded the man of the match award in a 2–1 win against

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

. Hence, he became the youngest player to make an assist in Ligue 1, aged 16 years and 281 days. He then won the UNFP Player of the Month award that month, to be the youngest player to achieve this feat. He scored his first goal for Rennes in a 1–0 win against

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

on 15 December 2019, in the 89th minute of the game. In the

2020–21 UEFA Champions League The 2020–21 UEFA Champions League was the 66th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 29th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. Chelsea defea ...

, he featured in four matches for Rennes against

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, Chelsea and

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Real Madrid

On 31 August 2021,

announced the signing of Camavinga until 30 June 2027. He made his debut in a 5–2 win over

Celta Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta Vigo, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues), the club was foun ...

on 12 September, in which he scored a goal shortly after coming off the bench. Three days later, he made his Champions League debut for Real Madrid, coming on as a substitute for

Luka Modrić Luka Modrić (; born 9 September 1985) is a Croatian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder and Captain (association football), captains both La Liga club Real Madrid and the Croatia national football team, Cro ...

in the 80th minute and assisting

Rodrygo Rodrygo Silva de Goes (; born 9 January 2001), better known as Rodrygo, is a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Winger (association football), right winger or Forward (association football), forward for La Lig ...

for the winner against

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

. Camavinga made a substitute appearance in the 85th minute of the

2022 UEFA Champions League final The 2022 UEFA Champions League final was the final match of the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League, the 67th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 30th season since it was renamed from the European Champion ...

on 28 May, helping Real Madrid win 1–0 over

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

to earn the

2021–22 UEFA Champions League The 2021–22 UEFA Champions League was the 67th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 30th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. Real Madrid de ...

title with his team. On 9 May 2023, he provided an assist to

Vinícius Júnior Vinícius José Paixão de Oliveira Júnior (; born 12 July 2000), commonly known as Vinícius Júnior or Vini Jr., is a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for La Liga ...

to take the lead in a 1–1 draw against

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

in the Champions League semi-final first leg at

Santiago Bernabéu Stadium Santiago Bernabéu Stadium (, ) is a retractable roof association football, football stadium in Madrid, Spain. With a seating capacity of around 83,000 following its extensive renovation completed in late 2024, the stadium has the second-largest ...

, to be the youngest in the competition's semi-finals to do so, aged 20 years and 180 days. On 7 November 2023, Real Madrid announced the extension of Camavinga's contract, which is to remain effective until 30 June 2029.

2024–25 season

He missed the first official match of the 2024–25 season, the

2024 UEFA Super Cup The 2024 UEFA Super Cup was the 49th edition of the UEFA Super Cup, an annual football match organised by UEFA and contested by the reigning champions of the top two European club competitions, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League ...

, after injuring his left knee in training on the eve of the match and was expected to be out for several weeks with an internal sprain to the knee. On 2 October 2024, Camavinga returned to action against Lille in the

2024–25 UEFA Champions League The 2024–25 UEFA Champions League was the 70th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 33rd season since it was rebranded from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. This was the ...

. During the 2024-2025 season, Camavinga had a difficult year, marked by a decline in performance and reduced playing time. Less influential in Real Madrid's midfield, he was gradually relegated to a secondary role by

Carlo Ancelotti Carlo Ancelotti (; born 10 June 1959) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of the Brazil national team. Nicknamed "Carletto" in Italy and "Don Carlo" in Spain, he is regarded as one of the greatest ...

. Occasionally lining up at left-back due to absences in that area, he was unable to rediscover his best form. His season came to a premature end on 23 April 2025, when he suffered a total rupture of his left adductor tendon during a match against

Getafe Getafe () is a municipalities in Spain, municipality and a city in Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality. Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrid's city c ...

. The injury would rule him out for several months, forcing him to miss the

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

final, the UEFA Nations League Finals, and the

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup (FIFA CWC) is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global sports governing body, governing body. The compe ...

International career

On 31 October 2019, Camavinga obtained French nationality, benefiting from the collective effect connected to the

naturalization Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

of his father. Until then, Camavinga had been a national of the Republic of the Congo. Six days later, he was selected to represent France's under-21 team for games against Georgia and Switzerland, after Matteo Guendouzi was called up to the senior team. On 27 August 2020, Camavinga was called up to play on France's senior team after

Paul Pogba Paul Labile Pogba (born 15 March 1993) is a French professional footballer who is a free agent. He primarily plays as a central midfielder. Born in Lagny-sur-Marne, Pogba joined the youth team of Ligue 2 side Le Havre in 2007. He joined Ma ...

was sidelined by a positive

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

test. He became, in the process, the youngest player to be called up to the French senior team since René Gérard in 1932, who was only 17 years, nine months and 17 days old. On 8 September, he debuted in a 4–2 win against

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

in the

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is an international European football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The competition was devised to minimise friendlies a ...

, replacing N'Golo Kanté midway through the second half. In doing so he became the youngest player to play for the France national team, following Maurice Gastiger in 1914 at 17 years, nine months, and 29 days old. On 7 October 2020, Camavinga made his first start for France in a 7–1 win against

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

where he scored his first international goal, opening the scoring with an overhead kick. This made him the youngest goalscorer for France since Maurice Gastiger in 1914. On 25 June 2021, Camavinga was named in Sylvain Ripoll's 18-man France squad for the Summer Olympics in 2021. However he was later removed from the squad after his club, Rennes, objected. Camavinga played twice at the

, in which reigning champions France finished as runners-up in Qatar. He played as a left-back in the final group game, a 1–0 loss to

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

in which manager

Didier Deschamps Didier Claude Deschamps (; born 15 October 1968) is a French professional football manager and former player who has been managing the France national team since 2012. He played as a defensive midfielder for several clubs, in France, Italy, Engl ...

rested his regular players ahead of the knockout stage. In the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

, he came on after 71 minutes in place of

Théo Hernandez Théo Bernard François Hernandez (; born 6 October 1997) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as a left-back for Serie A club AC Milan and the France national football team, France national team. He is known for ...

as the French were losing 2–0 to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

; the game ended 2–2 after 90 minutes and 3–3 after extra time, as France lost on penalties.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list France's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Camavinga goal.''

Honours

Real Madrid *

: 2021–22, 2023–24 *

: 2022–23 *

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

: 2021–22, 2023–24 *

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's offic ...

FIFA Intercontinental Cup The FIFA Intercontinental Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by FIFA, the sport's global sports governing body, governing body. The first edition took place in 2024 FIFA Intercontinental Cup, 2024. The co ...

France *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

runner-up:

Individual * UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Month: August 2019 *

Kopa Trophy The Kopa Trophy is an association football award presented to the best performing player worldwide under the age of 21 during a joint ceremony with the Ballon d'Or. The award is presented by ''France Football'' and is named after late French foot ...

runner-up:

* IFFHS Men's Youth (U20) World Team: 2020, 2021, 2022

References

External links

Profile
at the Real Madrid CF website * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Camavinga, Eduardo 2002 births Living people People from Cabinda (city) Angolan men's footballers French men's footballers Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Stade Rennais FC players Real Madrid CF players Championnat National 3 players Ligue 1 players La Liga players UEFA Champions League–winning players France men's youth international footballers France men's under-21 international footballers France men's international footballers 2022 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2024 players French expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain French expatriate sportspeople in Spain Black French sportspeople Angolan emigrants to France Democratic Republic of the Congo refugees Naturalized citizens of France French sportspeople of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent French sportspeople of Angolan descent Angolan people of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent 21st-century French sportsmen