Hannibal Mejbri

Hannibal Mejbri (حَنِّبَعْل المجبري; born 21 January 2003) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Manchester United and the Tunisia national team.

Mejbri joined the Manchester United youth system in 2019 from Monaco. 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 to Championship club Birmingham 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 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 (suburban Paris), and grew up in the 20th arrondissement of Paris. He joined Paris FC in 2009. In 2016, it was reported that he was being scouted by several English clubs, including Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal, and spent time on trial with the latter. He also spent time studying at the prestigious INF Clairefontaine academy. His elder brother, Abderrahmen Mejbri, is a sporting coach working for the Vietnam national football team and Pho Hien FC, a Vietnamese youth development club.

Early career
Despite interest from English clubs, Mejbri had a short spell with Boulogne-Billancourt, before joining Monaco 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, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona 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 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 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 award. made his senior debut three days later in a 2–1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in the final game of the Premier League season; he came on to replace Juan Mata in the 82nd minute.

Loan to Birmingham City
On 29 August 2022, Mejbri joined Championship club Birmingham City on loan for the 2022–23 season. On 10 February 2023, he scored his first senior goal, against West Bromwich Albion, 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.

Loan to Sevilla
On 15 January 2024, Manchester United sent Mejbri on loan to La Liga club Sevilla until the end of the season, with an optional buy-clause reported to be around €20 million.

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. He scored a goal on 22 April 2019, in a 4–0 win against Ivory Coast. 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 in 2020 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualification.

Tunisia
In May 2021, Mejbri was called up to the Tunisia national team for the first time, committing his international future to his parents' native nation. He made his debut on 5 June 2021, coming on at the start of the second half against the DR Congo.

He was selected for the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup, making his first appearance against Mauritania in the first group match and being named man of the match in the third group match against the United Arab Emirates. He was once again named man of the match in the semi-final against Egypt. He participated in almost all (88 minutes) of the regular time of the Arab Cup final, before being replaced by Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane.

He was twice named African revelation of the year at the Africa d'Or awards, in 2021 and 2022. On 14 November 2022, he was selected by Jalel Kadri for Tunisia's squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. On 22 November 2022, he came on as a substitute for Youssef Msakni in the 80th minute during the match between Tunisia and Denmark in Group D of the 2022 World Cup.

Mejbri was not chosen for the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations. Manager Jalel Kadri said that Mejbri requested to be left out due to difficulties at Manchester United.

Playing style
A composed midfielder on the ball, head of first-team development at Manchester United, Nicky Butt, compared Mejbri to his former teammates David Beckham and Roy Keane 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.

Honours
Tunisia Manchester United
 * FIFA Arab Cup runner-up: 2021
 * Kirin Cup Soccer: 2022


 * FA Cup: 2023–24

Individual
 * Denzil Haroun Reserve Player of the Year: 2020–21
 * African Revelation of the Year (Africa d'Or): 2021, 2022
 * Birmingham City Goal of the Season: 2022–23