Memphis Depay

Memphis Depay (; born 13 February 1994), also known mononymously as Memphis, is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a forward for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Corinthians and the Netherlands national team. Memphis is tied for the record for all-time top scorer for the men's Netherlands national team.

Memphis began his professional career with PSV Eindhoven, where, under the influence of manager Phillip Cocu, he became an integral part of the team, scoring 49 goals in 124 games across all competitions. During the 2014–15 season, he was the Eredivisie's top scorer with 22 goals in 30 games, and helped the team win the Eredivisie title for the first time since 2008. He also won the Dutch Footballer of the Year for his performances during the season. His performances also led him to be named the "Best Young Player" in the world in 2015 by ''France Football''. Memphis joined English side Manchester United in June 2015 for a reported fee of £25 million. After a disappointing spell there, he joined French club Lyon in January 2017. After five seasons there, he joined Barcelona in 2021 on a free transfer.

A product of the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) institution, Memphis has represented the national team at every professional level from early developmental stages under the tutelage of iconic Dutch coaches and players alike. He was part of the Netherlands under-17 team which won the 2011 European Championship. He made his senior debut in 2013 and the following year was part of their squad that came third at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, where he made his breakthrough performances on the international stage. He also took part in UEFA Euro 2020, the 2022 World Cup and Euro 2024.

Early life

Memphis Depay was born in the small South Holland village of Moordrecht to a Ghanaian father, Dennis Depay, and a Dutch mother, Cora Schensema. It was not long, however, before the relationship between the two parents began to fall apart and when Memphis was four, his father walked out on the family.

Since 2012, Memphis has dropped his last name to sever ties with his father: as he has remarked earlier, "Do not call me Depay, call me Memphis."

Club career

PSV Eindhoven

Memphis impressed football scouts from Sparta Rotterdam at the age of eight on the fields of his boyhood club Moordrecht. It took only three seasons before scouts from Sparta snatched Memphis from his local club. Club chairman Ton Redegeld said, "Memphis was as a young player already complete. He was two-footed and strong. If we won 7–0, he scored five times and would assist two times". When he turned 12, Memphis caught the eye of clubs such as Ajax, PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord. His grandfather, despite being an Ajax fan himself, advised Memphis to move to PSV.

2011–13: Beginnings

In 2011, Memphis was on trial for PSV's first team while playing for Jong PSV, the club's reserve team. He made his official debut on 21 September 2011 in a KNVB Cup second round match against amateur side VVSB, opening an 8–0 away win. His first Eredivisie match was 26 February 2012, when PSV beat rivals Feyenoord 3–2 at the Philips Stadion, coming on in added time for Zakaria Labyad. On 18 March, six minutes after replacing Dries Mertens, he scored his first league goal to confirm a 5–1 win over Heerenveen. He made a total of eight league appearances in his first season, all as a substitute, scoring three goals.

Memphis featured in the 2012 KNVB Cup Final on 8 April, playing the final four minutes of the 3–0 win over Heracles in place of Mertens at De Kuip in Rotterdam under interim coach Phillip Cocu. On 29 June, Memphis signed his first professional contract with PSV, tying himself to the ''Boeren'' until 2017. On 5 August, Memphis featured in the 2012 Johan Cruyff Shield at the Amsterdam Arena, replacing Luciano Narsingh for the final six minutes as PSV defeated league champions Ajax 4–2. He made 20 Eredivisie appearances in his second season, scoring twice, including two starts. The first of these was on 2 March 2013 in a 2–0 home win over VVV-Venlo, scoring after three minutes after being set up by fellow teenager Jürgen Locadia. PSV again reached the cup final, losing 1–2 to AZ Alkmaar on 9 May, with Memphis playing five minutes in place of Mertens.

2013–14: Breakthrough season

Memphis scored his first goal in UEFA competition on 30 July 2013, when he drifted in from the left and then smashed the ball into the top corner past goalkeeper Sammy Bossut as PSV defeated Zulte Waregem 2–0 in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League third qualifying round tie. PSV failed to qualify for the group stage of the Champions League, but in its second group stage match in the Europa League, Memphis scored again in a 2–0 win against Chornomorets Odesa on 3 October. Memphis provided the assist for Tim Matavž's goal against Roda JC on 27 October, but picked up two second-half yellow cards and was sent off for the first time in his professional career as PSV lost 2–1. On 15 December, Memphis helped PSV to just their second win in 13 matches, scoring twice in a 5–1 win over Utrecht. Memphis helped PSV rack up their eighth win a row on 23 March 2014, a 3–1 win over Roda JC, having a hand in Bryan Ruiz's game-winning goal despite wearing a protective mask to cover a bruised eye socket suffered in a challenge with Renato Ibarra of Vitesse on 15 March.

Memphis helped PSV secure a place in European competition for the 41st consecutive year, edging the ball past goalkeeper Jelle ten Rouwelaar to score their first in a 2–0 win against Breda; the final day win ensured that the club would finish fourth in the Eredivisie table.

2014–15: Top scorer and league title

After a successful showing at the 2014 World Cup, Memphis was linked to a number of clubs, including Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. Amid the speculation surrounding his future, he started the season for PSV in impressive fashion. Memphis came off the bench to score one goal and assist another in the return game of the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round tie between PSV and St. Pölten on 7 August, as his team progressed to the play-off round after a 3–2 away win, giving them a 4–2 aggregate win over the Austrians. In the opening game of the Eredivisie season three days later, Memphis played a major part in PSV's 3–1 away win against promoted side Willem II by scoring two goals. He improved on this performance in the following game, scoring two free-kicks and delivering the assist for Georginio Wijnaldum's goal in a 6–1 home win against Breda. On 28 August, in the Europa League play-off second leg away in Belarus, he scored two late goals against Shakhtyor Soligorsk as PSV won 3–0 on aggregate to reach the group stage. Memphis then suffered a groin injury during PSV's 1–3 defeat at Zwolle on 13 September and he was substituted in the 18th minute.

On 18 April 2015, Memphis scored PSV's second goal with a free-kick from 35 yards out in a 4–1 home win over Heerenveen to give PSV its 22nd Eredivisie title, its first since 2008. Later that month, the club confirmed that they had received interest from others wishing to sign him, including Manchester United. He scored his last home goal for PSV in a 2–0 win against Heracles on 10 May. As he was substituted off he received a standing ovation as well as congratulations from his teammates. He finished the season as the league's top scorer with 22 goals, two ahead of runner-up and teammate Luuk de Jong.

Manchester United

On 7 May 2015, PSV confirmed that they had agreed a deal with Manchester United over Memphis' transfer, subject to a medical. United manager Louis van Gaal said that he was "forced" into signing him early, due to interest from Paris Saint-Germain. Though Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said that he had never been after Memphis, PSV director Marcel Brands stated that he had conversations with Liverpool over a possible transfer. On 12 June, United confirmed the signing of Memphis, for a reported fee of £25 million on a four-year contract with the option to extend for a further year. He was unveiled as a United player at a press conference on 10 July. This made him the fourth player to join United from PSV after Jaap Stam, Park Ji-sung and Ruud van Nistelrooy. Memphis made his debut in a pre-season friendly against Club América in Seattle on 17 July, contesting the first half as United fielded a different 11 players for each 45 minutes. He scored his first goal for the club four days later during a 3–1 win over the San Jose Earthquakes. At his own request, after the departure of Ángel Di María, Memphis was given the iconic number 7 shirt – previously worn by former players such as George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Memphis made his Premier League debut on 8 August as the season opened with a 1–0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford. He was substituted after 68 minutes for Ander Herrera, and Van Gaal said after the match that Memphis was playing in too eager a manner. On 18 August, Memphis scored his first two goals for Manchester United, and assisted Maroune Fellaini's final goal, in a 3–1 home victory over Club Brugge in the first leg of the Champions League play-offs. In the second leg, Memphis provided the assist for the first of Wayne Rooney's three goals. He scored again on 15 September in the first game of the competition's group stage, in an eventual 2–1 loss at his former team PSV. Memphis scored his first league goal on 26 September, opening a 3–0 home win over Sunderland, a victory that put United on top of the league for the first time in 110 weeks.

Following his early struggles in the Premier League, Memphis told Dutch newspaper ''De Telegraaf'', "There are a lot of games in Manchester. There are very few rest days and on training days you are mainly concerned with recovering. It's heavy, two games a week, always at a high level, and my body has to get used to that". These claims were dismissed by assistant manager and former United player Ryan Giggs, who blamed Memphis' flashy lifestyle for his poor form. Memphis was later dropped to the bench, along with countryman Daley Blind, during United's 3–0 win over Everton on 17 October, following the Netherlands' failure to qualify for UEFA Euro 2016. Despite this, Memphis was named in the 59-man longlist for the FIFA Ballon d'Or, but did not make the shortlist.

After being dropped in four consecutive matches, Memphis got his first start as a second striker due to Anthony Martial and Rooney's unavailability, and seized the opportunity with his second league goal in a 2–1 away win over Watford at Vicarage Road. His performance earned praise from van Gaal, as well as his first Premier League Man of the Match honour. In February, Memphis scored in each of United's two Europa League matches against Midtjylland as they won 6–3 on aggregate; Memphis was lauded for his performance in the home leg, where he not only scored but also set up the first goal, earned his side two penalties and delivered a cross that led to an own goal. Van Gaal hailed the match as a "turning point" for Memphis.

Memphis made only four appearances (all of them as a substitute) and had a total playing time of just 20 minutes in the Premier League during the 2016–17 season. He only started one match in the season – the EFL Cup third round 3–1 away win over League One club Northampton Town on 21 September 2016 – and was substituted after playing 55 minutes of that match. Following this, he played only 46 minutes, and his last match for the club was on 24 November, when he played the final eight minutes of a 4–0 Europa League home victory against Feyenoord.

Lyon

On 20 January 2017, Memphis signed a four-and-a-half-year deal with French club Lyon which would keep him at the French club until the summer of 2021. The initial transfer fee was estimated to be £16–17 million, potentially rising to £22 million with the add-ons including Lyon qualifying for the UEFA Champions League and Memphis earning a new contract. The terms of the deal also included buy-back and sell-on clauses for United. Two days later, he made his debut for Lyon, coming on as substitute for Mathieu Valbuena in the 79th minute in a home Ligue 1 match against Marseille, which Lyon won 3–1. On 28 January, he made his first start for Lyon in a 2–1 league defeat to Lille, and was substituted in the 68th minute by Maxwel Cornet. On 12 March in a game against Toulouse, Memphis scored a goal from close to the halfway line. He later said it was "the goal of my life", although he also distanced himself from comparisons to David Beckham's famous halfway line goal against Wimbledon in 1996.

On the final day of the 2017–18 season, Memphis scored a hat-trick against Nice

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