Malick Thiaw

Malick Laye Thiaw (born 8 August 2001) is a German professional footballer who plays for Serie A club AC Milan and the Germany national team. Mainly a centre-back, he can also play as a right-back or defensive midfielder.

Club career
In his childhood Thiaw played for TV Kalkum-Wittlaer, a club in his native Düsseldorf. He then played for the youth teams of Fortuna Düsseldorf, Bayer Leverkusen, and Borussia Mönchengladbach. In 2015 he joined the youth academy of Schalke 04. He made his professional debut with Schalke in a 1–1 draw against TSG Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga on 7 March 2020.

AC Milan
On 29 August 2022, Thiaw moved to Italy joining Serie A club AC Milan on a contract until 30 June 2027, the transfer fee was believed to be €5 million paid upfront and €2 million on bonus-relating clauses.

Having spent the first half of his debut season mostly on the sidelines, making only a few short appearances as a substitute, Thiaw emerged into the team's starting XI in February 2023 following his man of the match performance against Tottenham Hotspur in the round of 16 of the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League. As the team's head coach Stefano Pioli opted to change the formation from 4–2–3–1 to 3–5–2, Thiaw began to start every forthcoming game in the middle of the defensive third, with Fikayo Tomori on the left and Pierre Kalulu on the right. However, when Pioli reversed his decision in March 2023 due to unsatisfactory results and went back to a four-man defense, Thiaw still kept his place as a starter, effectively becoming the team's second-choice center back after Tomori.

Ahead of the 2023–24 season, Thiaw and Tomori were the team's starting duo in central defense, with Kalulu and Simon Kjær as backups. The pair continued to play together until Thiaw's injury on 2 December 2023 in the game against Frosinone, which sidelined him for eight weeks.

International career
Thiaw was born in Germany to a Senegalese father and Finnish mother. He holds German and Finnish passports.

In 2017, he was called up to represent the Finland U17s, however he did not make any appearance.

On 15 March 2021, Thiaw was called up to represent the Germany U21s for the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

Aged just 21, he was called up to the Germany senior team by head coach Hansi Flick for the friendly matches against Peru and Belgium on 25 and 28 March 2023. He made his international debut for Germany on 16 June, starting in a 1–0 loss to Poland. As of 2024, fans on the Finnish football forum Futisforum2 are still hoping that Thiaw will choose to play for Finland.

Personal life
Malick Thiaw identifies as a Muslim. On 14 November 2023, his partner Aminah gave birth to his daughter, Moussa Laye.

Honours
Schalke 04
 * 2. Bundesliga: 2021–22