THE KEY MEN
KEVIN DE BRUYNE
DOB: June 28, 1991
Club: Manchester
City
Transfer fee:
€75m (August 2015)
Previous clubs:
Genk, Chelsea,
Werder Bremen
(loan), Wolfsburg
Career honours: 1 English Premier League (2018),
2 English League Cups (2016 & 2018), German Cup (2015), German Supercup (2015), Belgian League (2011), Belgian Cup (2009), Belgian SuperCup (2011)
World Cup 2018 stats: 4 appearances (1 goal, 1 assist)
Did you know? His mother, Anna, was born in Burundi – the family had moved around because of her father’s involvement in the oil industry – and she grew up in London. De Bruyne spent a number of family Christmases in the UK because of the family connection there.
EDEN HAZARD
DOB: Jan 7, 1991
Club: Chelsea
Transfer fee:
€32m (June 2012)
Previous clubs:
Lille
Career honours:
2 Premier Leagues
(2015 & 2017), 1
Europa League (2013), 1 FA Cup (2018), 1 League Cup (2015), 1 French League (2011), 1 French Cup (2011)
World Cup 2018 stats: 4 appearances (2 goals,
2 assists)
Did you know? His three brothers are all professional footballers with Thorgan at Borussia Monchengladbach and a part of the Belgium squad and Kylian now on the books of Chelsea. Ethan is at Hazard’s old youth club Tulize.
KYLIAN MBAPPE
DOB: December 20,
1998
Club: Paris SaintGermain
Transfer fee:
€145m
(August 2017)
Previous clubs:
Monaco
Career Honours: 2 French Leagues (2017 & 18), 1 French Cup (2018), 1 French League Cup (2018)
World Cup 2018 stats: 5 appearances (3 goals, 0 assists)
Did you know? His father, Wilfried, is originally from Cameroon and was a coach at Mbappe’s youth club Bondy. He has also worked as an agent. His mother, Fayza, was a professional handball player
ANTOINE GRIEZMANN
DOB: March 21, 1991
Club: Atletico
Madrid
Transfer fee:
€30m (July 2014)
Previous clubs:
Real Sociedad
Career honours:
1 Europa League
(2018), 1 Spanish Second Division (2010), 1 Spanish Super Cup (2014)
World Cup 2018 stats: 5 appearances (3 goals, 1 assist)
Did you know? He moved to Spain as a 14-year-old and his initiation song in front of his French team-mates was in Spanish. His surname comes from his father Alain’s German roots.