Hannibal Mejbri (; born 21 January 2003) is a Tunisian 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 ...

for club

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

and the Tunisia national team. Mejbri joined the Manchester United youth system in 2019 from

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

. He had previously spent time at the Clairefontaine academy. He made his senior debut for the club in a Premier League game in May 2021. Mejbri spent the 2022–23 season

on loan In sports, a loan involves a particular player being able to temporarily play for a club other than the one to which they are currently contracted. Loan deals may last from a few weeks to a full season, sometimes persisting for multiple seasons ...

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

club

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

; he was a regular in the side, and scored his first senior goal. Born in France to Tunisian parents, Mejbri represented his birth country at under-16 and under-17 levels. He made his senior international debut for Tunisia in 2021.

Early life

Mejbri was born in

Ivry-sur-Seine Ivry-sur-Seine () is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Paris's main Asian district, the Quartier Asiatique in the 13th arrondissement, borders the ...

(suburban

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

), and grew up in the city's 20th arrondissement. He joined

Paris FC Paris Football Club (French pronunciation: Help:IPA/French, aʁi futbol klœb, commonly referred to as Paris FC or simply PFC, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris, France. They will compete in Ligue ...

in 2009. In 2016, it was reported that he was being scouted by several English clubs, including

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

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 ...

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 ...

and

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, and spent time on trial with the latter. He also spent time studying at the prestigious

INF Clairefontaine The INF Clairefontaine (), known as INF or simply Clairefontaine, is the national football centre that specialises in training French football players. The INF Clairefontaine is a section of the CNF Clairefontaine. The academy is one of sixtee ...

academy. His elder brother, Abderrahmen Mejbri, is a sporting coach working for the

Vietnam national football team The Vietnam national football team () represents Vietnam in men's senior international association football and is controlled by the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), the governing body of football in Vietnam. The team's nickname is the Golde ...

and

Pho Hien FC PVF-Cong An Nhan Dan Football Club (), simply known as PVF-CAND, is a professional football club based in Văn Giang, Hưng Yên, Vietnam. The club play their home matches at PVF Stadium and compete in the V.League 2, the second tier of Vietnames ...

, a Vietnamese youth development club.

Club career

Early career

Despite interest from English clubs, Mejbri had a short spell with

Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris ...

, before joining

in 2018 for a fee of €1 million. Although initially impressed by Monaco's youth development, 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. In 2019, he was being tracked by clubs across Europe, including the German, French and Spanish champions,

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

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 ...

and

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

respectively. 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.

Manchester United

On 11 August 2019,

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

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. The fee paid by the Manchester club was believed to be around €5 million, possibly rising to €10 million in add-ons. Mejbri settled quickly into Manchester United's youth teams, progressing to the under-23 squad despite still being 17. Mejbri made his debut playing for the Manchester United U21 side against Salford City in the

2020–21 EFL Trophy The 2020–21 EFL Trophy, known as the Leasing.com Trophy before 28 October 2020 and later the Papa John's Trophy for sponsorship reasons, was the 40th season in the history of the competition, a knock-out tournament for English football clubs i ...

on 9 September 2020. He signed a new contract with United in March 2021. On 20 May 2021, he won the

Denzil Haroun Reserve Player of the Year Manchester United Football Club Under-21s is the most senior of Manchester United's youth teams and the club's former reserve team. They play in the Premier League 2, the highest tier of the Professional Development League. The team is effective ...

award. made his senior debut three days later in a 2–1 win over

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

in the final game of the

season; he came on to replace

Juan Mata Juan Manuel Mata García (born 28 April 1988) is a Spanish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for A-League Men club Western Sydney Wanderers FC, Western Sydney Wanderers. He primarily plays as an attacking ...

in the 82nd minute.

Loan to Birmingham City

On 29 August 2022, Mejbri joined

club

on loan for the 2022–23 season. On 10 February 2023, he scored his first senior goal, against

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

, with a surprise free-kick.

Return to Manchester United

On 16 September 2023, Mejbri scored his first Premier League goal for Manchester United in a 3–1 home defeat against

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

Loan to Sevilla

On 15 January 2024, Manchester United sent Mejbri on loan to

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

Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...

until the end of the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

, with an optional buy-clause reported to be around €20 million.

Burnley

On 28 August 2024, Mejbri joined

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

club

on a four-year contract. On 11 April 2025, he scored his first goal for Burnley during the 42nd match of the

2024–25 EFL Championship The 2024–25 EFL Championship (referred to as the Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the 9th season of the EFL Championship under its current title and the 33rd season under its current league division form ...

in a 2–1 win against

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

International career

France

Mejbri made 12 appearances for France at under-16 level and three appearances at under-17 level. 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 to

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. He scored a goal on 22 April 2019, in a 4–0 win against

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

. In the same year, he was called up for the first time to the under-17 national team. He scored two goals on his debut for the team on 22 October 2019, in an 8–0 win against

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

2020 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualification The 2020 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualifying competition was a men's under-17 football competition that was originally to determine the 15 teams joining the automatically qualified hosts Estonia in the 2020 UEFA European Under-17 Champi ...

Tunisia

In May 2021, Mejbri was called up for Tunisia national team for the first time, committing his international future to his parents' homeland. He earned his first cap on 5 June during a friendly game coming on as a second-half substitute against the

DR Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

at the

Hammadi Agrebi Stadium Hammadi Agrebi Stadium (), opened as 7 November Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the sports city of Radès, located in Radès, in the southern suburb of the city Tunis. The stadium was established in 2001 to host the 2001 Mediterra ...

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

, replacing

Youssef Msakni Youssef Msakni (; born 28 October 1990) is a Tunisian professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for Qatar Stars League club Al Arabi, and captains the Tunisia national team. Msakni has played over 100 matches and scored 23 g ...

in the 46th minute; the match ended in a 1–0 victory. In November 2021,

Mondher Kebaier Mondher Kebaier (; born 2 April 1970) is a Tunisian association football, football coach and former player who is the manager of Club Africain. Career Formerly a player at hometown club CA Bizertin, Kebaier became manager of the club in 2000, f ...

called him up to participate in the

2021 FIFA Arab Cup The 2021 FIFA Arab Cup () was the 10th edition of the FIFA Arab Cup, Arab Cup, the Arab world's national team Association football, football tournament; it was the first edition under FIFA's jurisdiction, with previous editions having been organi ...

in Qatar. He provided his first assist against

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

in the first group match and was named man of the match in the third group match after a 1–0 win against the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

. He was again named man of the match in a 1–0 win the semi-final against

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. He played almost the entire 88 minutes of regular time in the final, before being replaced by

Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane (; born 6 September 1999) is a Tunisian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Egyptian Premier League club Al Ahly and Tunisia national team. Career Espérance de Tunis Ben Romdhane played his first gam ...

. He was twice named African revelation of the year at the Africa d'Or awards, in 2021 and 2022. Phase_de_match_Tunisie_-_Mali

In January 2022,

Jalel Kadri Jalel Kadri (; born on 14 December 1971) is a Tunisian football coach who is the currently the manager of Saudi First Division League club Al-Hazem. Coaching career On 7 October 2013 Kadri was appointed as manager of Saudi club Al-Nahda. On ...

called him up to participate in the

2021 Africa Cup of Nations The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (also referred to as AFCON 2021 or CAN 2021), known as the TotalEnergies 2021 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's ass ...

in Cameroon. He started the first match against

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

, which ended in a 0–1 defeat, and was substituted in the 46th minute. In the third match against

Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

, he played 22 minutes, replacing Hamza Rafia in the 68th minute. The team was ultimately eliminated in the quarterfinals by

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

0–1. On 14 November 2022, he was selected by Kadri to participate in 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 ...

in Qatar. On 22 November, he made his debut in a 0–0 draw, replacing Msakni in the 80th minute of Tunisia's

Group D Group D may refer to: * FIA Group D - International Formula racing cars: ** Formula Two ** Formula Three ** Formula 3000 * One of six or eight groups of four teams competing at the FIFA World Cup ** 2022 FIFA World Cup Group D ** 2018 FIFA Worl ...

match against

. Mejbri was not used in the next two group matches, and Tunisia was eliminated in the group round as third-placed team. Mejbri played in two matches in the

2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches were organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to decide the participating teams for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast, the 34th edition of the international men's fo ...

against

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

and winning both games 3–0 and 1–0. On 28 December 2023, when Tunisia's squad for the

2023 Africa Cup of Nations The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, known in short as the 2023 AFCON or CAN 2023 and for sponsor (commercial), sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, was the 34th edition of the biennial Africa Cup of Nations tournam ...

was announced, Mejbri was at the center of a controversy when he was omitted from the list. Although Kadri was clear in explaining that Mejbri had expressed his desire not to play in the competition due to his difficult situation at

, some were not convinced by this argument.

Style of play

A composed midfielder on the ball, head of first-team development at Manchester United,

Nicky Butt Nicholas Butt (born 21 January 1975) is an English football coach and former player who was most recently the head of first-team development at Manchester United. He is also a co-owner of Salford City. Butt played professional football as a midf ...

, compared Mejbri to his former teammates

David Beckham Sir David Robert Joseph Beckham ( ; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Primarily a right winger and known for his range of passing, cross ...

and

Roy Keane Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish football pundit, former coach, and former professional player. He is best known for his career in the Premier League, in particular his captaincy of Manchester United. He is the joint most ...

for his leadership skills. Coach Neil Ryan has also praised Mejbri, stating he has high hopes for the young playmaker. 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.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Tunisia *

FIFA Arab Cup The FIFA Arab Cup (), or Arab Cup, is an international association football competition organized by FIFA. It is held every four years with the participation of senior men's national teams of the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA) ...

runner-up:

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Kirin Cup Soccer The is an association football tournament organised in Japan by the Kirin Brewery Company. The host, Japan, is a participant in every edition. The tournament was founded in 1978 then known as Japan Cup (International competition which national ...

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 ...

Individual *

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

*African Revelation of the Year (Africa d'Or): 2021, 2022 *Birmingham City Goal of the Season:

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

References

External links

Profile
at the Burnley F.C. website * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mejbri, Hannibal 2003 births Living people Footballers from Paris French men's footballers Tunisian men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Paris FC players INF Clairefontaine players AC Boulogne-Billancourt players AS Monaco FC players Manchester United F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Sevilla FC players Premier League players English Football League players France men's youth international footballers Tunisia men's international footballers 2021 Africa Cup of Nations players 2022 FIFA World Cup players French sportspeople of Tunisian descent Tunisian expatriate men's footballers French expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Tunisian expatriate sportspeople in England French expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Tunisian expatriate sportspeople in Spain French expatriate sportspeople in Spain 21st-century French sportsmen