Ismaël Seifallah Gharbi Álvarez (born 10 April 2004) 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 ...

for

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

club

Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...

. Born in France, he has represented both France and Spain at the youth international level.

Club career

Gharbi began his career at

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 2010, and joined the

Paris Saint-Germain Academy The Paris Saint-Germain FC Youth Academy () is the youth system of both Paris Saint-Germain FC, Paris Saint-Germain's male and Paris Saint-Germain FC (women), female teams. Managed by the Association Paris Saint-Germain, the men's section of ...

in 2016. In 2020, he was part of the PSG team that participated at the Alkass International Cup in Qatar, finishing in third place. He scored 5 goals across the tournament; a brace against

Kashiwa Reysol is a Japanese professional association football, football club based in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Sankyo ...

in the group stage, a goal against Zenit Saint Petersburg in the quarter-finals, one 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 ...

in the semi-finals, and another against the Mohammed VI Academy in the third place match. In April 2021, Gharbi was included in the

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 ...

(PSG) squad for the

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 ...

quarter-final first leg against Bayern Munich, an eventual 3–2 victory for ''Les Parisiens'' at the

Allianz Arena Allianz Arena (; known as Munich Football Arena for UEFA competitions) is a Association football, football stadium in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, with a 70,000 seating capacity for international matches and 75,000 for domestic matches. Widely kno ...

. On 14 July 2021, he scored a goal in his first appearance for PSG's senior team, a 4–0 friendly victory over

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

at the Camp des Loges. On 1 August 2021, Gharbi made his professional debut, coming on as a substitute in a 1–0

Trophée des Champions The Trophée des Champions (, ) is a French association football trophy contested in an annual match between the champions of Ligue 1 and the winners of the Coupe de France. It is equivalent to the Super cup, super cups found in many other count ...

loss to

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

. His

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

debut came on 19 December in a 3–0 win over Feignies Aulnoye. On 8 May 2022, Gharbi made his first-ever

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 ...

appearance, coming on as a substitute in a 2–2 draw with

Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...

at the

Parc des Princes The Parc des Princes (, ) is an all-seater stadium, all-seater football stadium in Paris, France. It is located in the south-west of the French capital, inside the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement, near the Stade Jean-Bouin (P ...

. He signed his first professional contract with Paris Saint-Germain on 17 June, a three-year deal until 30 June 2025. In the 2022–23 season, he made six league appearances and won his second league title. On 1 September 2023, Gharbi was loaned out to

Swiss Super League The Super League (also known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a professional association football league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss football league system. It has been played in its current fo ...

club Stade Lausanne Ouchy until the end of the season. On 31 August 2024, Gharbi signed for

club

on a five-year contract. Braga paid no transfer fee, but PSG retained 50% of the player's economic rights. A €35 million release clause was included in Gharbi's contract.

International career

Gharbi was born in France to a Tunisian father and Spanish mother, and is therefore eligible to represent France, Spain, and Tunisia. He has been called up by the France under-17s in the past. The

Tunisian Football Federation The Tunisian Football Federation (, ) is the governing body of association football, football in Tunisia. It established on 29 March 1957. It became a member in the FIFA in 1960, and in the same year it also became a member of Confederation of Af ...

has previously made efforts to convince Gharbi to represent Tunisia. In 2021, he was called up to play for the France under-18s for the Tournoi International de Limoges. In February 2022, Gharbi was called up to the Spain under-18s. In June, he represented Spain at the 2022 Mediterranean Games in

Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...

, Algeria.

Style of play

Gharbi is a versatile player; although primarily an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

, he can also play as a wide and

central 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 ...

. Hervé Guégan, who coached Gharbi at the Alkass International Cup in 2020, has stated that he is a player "technically at ease" and that he "always makes passes with good timing". Gharbi is good at free kicks and possesses good ball control. While being able to score himself, he has an ability to make others score. In February 2022, former PSG player Mathieu Bodmer commented that "in the penalty area, time stops for harbi and that he has "cold blood", being able to complete movements at the right moments.

Career statistics

Honours

Paris Saint-Germain U19 * Championnat National U19 runner-up: 2022–23 Paris Saint-Germain *

: 2021–22, 2022–23

References

External links

Paris Saint-Germain F.C. profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gharbi, Ismael 2004 births Living people Footballers from Paris Spanish men's footballers Spain men's youth international footballers French men's footballers France men's youth international footballers Spanish people of Tunisian descent French people of Spanish descent Sportspeople of Spanish descent French sportspeople of Tunisian descent Men's association football midfielders Paris FC players Paris Saint-Germain FC players FC Stade Lausanne Ouchy players S.C. Braga players Championnat National 3 players Ligue 1 players Swiss Super League players Primeira Liga players French expatriate men's footballers Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland French expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal French expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Portugal 21st-century French sportsmen 21st-century Spanish sportsmen