El Chadaille Bitshiabu

French footballer (born 2005)
El Chadaille Bitshiabu
Personal information
Full name El Chadaille Bitshiabu[1]
Date of birth (2005-05-16) 16 May 2005 (age 18)[2]
Place of birth Villeneuve-Saint-Georges, France[2]
Height 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)[2]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 RB Leipzig
Number 5
Youth career
2011–2016 US Saint-Denis
2016–2017 Boulogne-Billancourt
2017–2022 Paris Saint-Germain
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021–2023 Paris Saint-Germain 14 (0)
2022 Paris Saint-Germain B 3 (0)
2023– RB Leipzig 4 (0)
International career‡
2021–2022 France U17 9 (0)
2021–2022 France U18 6 (0)
2022– France U19 3 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  France
UEFA European Under-17 Championship
Winner 2022 Israel
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13 April 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20 November 2022

El Chadaille Bitshiabu (born 16 May 2005) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig.[3]

Club career

Paris Saint-Germain

Bitshiabu is a former youth player of US Saint-Denis and Boulogne-Billancourt. He joined the Paris Saint-Germain Academy in 2017.[4] He caught attention of the media during a friendly tournament later that year due to his exceptional height at that age.[5]

On 27 July 2020, Bitshiabu signed a three-year aspiring contract with Paris Saint-Germain.[6] He made his first appearance for the senior team the following week on 5 August, in a 1–0 friendly win over Sochaux.[7] On 29 July 2021, Bitshiabu signed his first professional contract, tying him to the club until June 2024.[8] He made his debut for the club in a 3–0 Coupe de France win over Feignies Aulnoye on 19 December 2021.[9] His debut at the age of 16 years and 213 days made him the youngest player to appear in an official match for the club, a record which was previously held by Kingsley Coman.[10] On 20 April 2022, he made his Ligue 1 debut as a substitute in a 3–0 away win over Angers.[11]

On 28 December 2022, Bitshiabu made his first Ligue 1 start for PSG in a 2–1 home win over Strasbourg, playing as a left-back to fill in for the late withdrawal of Juan Bernat due to injury. After the match, manager Christophe Galtier hailed Bitshiabu's performance as "very good".[12] On 8 March 2023, he made his UEFA Champions League debut in a 2–0 defeat against Bayern Munich in the round of 16 second leg, replacing the injured Nordi Mukiele at half-time.[13]

RB Leipzig

On 18 July 2023, Bitshiabu signed for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig on a five-year contract, and was assigned the number 5 jersey.[14] The reported transfer fee was €15 million, with an additional €5 million in potential bonuses.[15]

International career

Bitshiabu is a French youth international. He started to receive call-ups to French youth teams in January 2020.[16] In 2021, Bitshiabu was called up to play for the France under-18s for the Tournoi International de Limoges.[17]

Personal life

Born in France, Bitshiabu is of DR Congolese descent.[18]

Career statistics

As of match played 13 April 2024[3]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Paris Saint-Germain 2021–22 Ligue 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
2022–23 Ligue 1 13 0 2 0 1[b] 0 0 0 16 0
Total 14 0 4 0 1 0 0 0 19 0
Paris Saint-Germain B 2021–22 Championnat National 3 3 0 — — — 3 0
RB Leipzig 2023–24 Bundesliga 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Career total 21 0 4 0 1 0 0 0 26 0
  1. ^ Includes Coupe de France
  2. ^ Appearance in UEFA Champions League

Honours

Paris Saint-Germain

France U17

References

  1. ^ El Chadaille Bitshiabu at Global Sports Archive
  2. ^ a b c "First Team: El Chadaille Bitshiabu". Paris Saint-Germain F.C. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  3. ^ a b El Chadaille Bitshiabu at Soccerway
  4. ^ "Soupe matin, midi et soir! A 12 ans, le défenseur du PSG El Chadaille Bitshiabu mesure... 1,90 m" [Soup for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! At 12 years old, the PSG defender El Chadaille Bitshiabu measures... 1.90 m]. 20 minutes (in French). 8 March 2018. Archived from the original on 3 November 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Football: PSG youngster makes eye-catching appearance at tournament". The New Zealand Herald. 1 January 2018. Archived from the original on 24 July 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  6. ^ "PSG : la pépite El Chadaille Bitshiabu s'engage jusqu'en 2023" [PSG: the gem El Chadaille Bitshiabu signs until 2023]. Le Parisien (in French). 27 July 2020. Archived from the original on 27 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  7. ^ "Former PSG U19 coach says prospect Bitshiabu will have a great career". PSG Talk. 6 August 2020. Archived from the original on 24 July 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  8. ^ "El Chadaille Bitshiabu signed his first professional contract". Paris Saint-Germain F.C. 29 July 2021. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  9. ^ "Feignies vs. Paris Saint-Germain". ESPN. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  10. ^ "El Chadaille Bitshiabu, 481e et plus jeune joueur de l'histoire du PSG" [El Chadaile Bitshiabu, 481st and youngest player of PSG's history]. Les Titis du PSG (in French). 19 December 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  11. ^ "Paris win but have to wait a bit longer!". Paris Saint-Germain F.C. 20 April 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  12. ^ Verdelet, Arthur (29 December 2022). "Le match, Mbappé, Marquinhos, Bitshiabu, l'arbitrage, etc, la conf' complète de Galtier après PSG/Strasbourg (2-1)". CulturePSG (in French). Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  13. ^ "Nordi Mukiele sort blessé à son tour, El Chadaille Bitshiabu entre contre le Bayern". L'Équipe (in French). 8 March 2023.
  14. ^ "Young talent El Chadaille Bitshiabu joins RBL | RB Leipzig". rbleipzig.com. 2023-07-18. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
  15. ^ "Officiel: El Chadaille Bitshiabu quitte le PSG pour Leipzig". foot01.com (in French). 18 July 2023. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
  16. ^ "El Chadaille Bitshiabu convoqué à Clairefontaine" [El Chadaille Bitshiabu summoned to Clairefontaine]. Les Titis du PSG (in French). 20 January 2020. Archived from the original on 22 August 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  17. ^ "Ismael Gharbi buteur avec la France U18" [Ismael Gharbi scores with France U18] (in French). Paris Saint-Germain F.C. 1 September 2021. Archived from the original on 1 September 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  18. ^ "El Chadaille Bitshiabu, 15 ans et convoité à travers l'Europe !" [El Chadaille Bitshiabu, 15 years old and coveted across Europe!]. Leopardsfoot (in French). 4 July 2020. Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  19. ^ Bosher, Luke; Whitehead, Jacob (23 April 2022). "PSG crowned Ligue 1 champions after draw against Lens". The Athletic. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  20. ^ Scott, Andy (27 May 2023). "PSG win record 11th French title". Yahoo! Sports. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  21. ^ "Final: France 2–1 Netherlands: Line-ups". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 1 June 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2022.

External links

  • Profile at the RB Leipzig website
  • El Chadaille Bitshiabu at the French Football Federation (in French)
  • El Chadaille Bitshiabu at WorldFootball.net
  • El Chadaille Bitshiabu – French league stats at Ligue 1 – also available in French
  • El Chadaille Bitshiabu – UEFA competition record (archive) Edit this at Wikidata
  • v
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RB Leipzig – current squad