Christopher (Chris) Alan Nkunku is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or forward. He plays for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig and the France national team. Nkunku, a Paris Saint-Germain academy graduate is renowned for his speed, technique, and intelligence of play. He is a versatile player who can operate in the midfield as well as attack. His pace and skillful dribbling make reaping opponents’ defenses look easy.
He made his senior debut with PSG at the age of eighteen and won three Ligue 1 titles before switching to Bundesliga. Christopher has represented France at youth levels from the under-15s to under-21s before making his senior national debut in March 2022.
Nkunku has an obsession with scoring goals. He is one of the brightest stars in the Bundesliga.
Christopher Nkunku Age
How old is Christopher Nkunku? Nkunku was born on 14 November 1997 in Lagny-sur-Marne, Seine-et-Marne, Eastern Paris. He is 25 years old as of June 2023. His zodiac is a Scorpion.
Christopher Nkunku Height
Nkunku stands at an approximate height of 1.75 meters (5 feet 9 inches).
Christopher Nkunku Family and Religion
Nkunku is of Congolese descent as his parents’ origin is the Democratic Republic of Congo. He was one of three children born of the union of their parents. Little is known about his parents and siblings.
Nkunku is a Christian.
Christopher Nkunku Club Career
Early Days
Growing up in his hometown, Nkunku started playing football with his peers in the streets. He would soon get so attached to the game that he would always create time to train after school. Fortunately, his family saw his potential at an early age and encouraged him to pursue his passion for the game. Consequently, the young Christopher trained tirelessly to enhance his skills.
In 2003 at the age of six, he was enrolled at AS Marolles where he started his development. He moved to RCP Fontainebleau in 2009 where his speed, technique, and vision were eminent from an early age. Nkunku was uniquely versatile, he would play across all midfield positions.
Paris Saint-Germain
Soon after, in 2010 joined the Paris Saint-Germain youth system where he started out as a winger owing to his speed and skillful drilling. However, due to his excellent vision and passing, he would often be deployed in central midfield. He was a member of the PSG youth team and was the 2015-16 UEFA Youth League runners-up.
On 8 December 2015, he made his senior club debut in a UEFA Champions League 2-0 victory against Shakhtar Donetsk. He scored his maiden professional goal on 7 January 2017 against Bastia in a 7-0 home win in the Coupe de France. On 10 March 2018, he scored his first brace as a professional in a 5-0 victory over Metz.
During his four-year time with the French giants, Christopher made regular appearances but could not get a spot in the starting line-up. This prompted him to look for better opportunities elsewhere as he sought to improve his career.
RB Leipzig
On 18 July 2019, Nkunku signed a five-year contract with the German club, RB Leipzig. He made his debut with the club on 11 August in a 3-2 victory over VfL Osnabruck, in a DFB-Pokal match. A week later, he debuted in the Bundesliga scoring his first competitive goal. This was in a 2019-20 season match day one win over regional rivals Union Berlin.
On 22 February 2020, in a 5-0 victory over Schalke 04, Nkunku provided four assists. Consequently, he became the second player to do so in the recent Bundesliga history, after Szabolcs Huszti in 2012. Nkunku scored his first hat-trick for Leipzig on 15 September 2021, in a 6-3 loss to Manchester City in the 2021-22 UEFA Champions League group stage. He made club history by becoming the first Leipzig player to score a hat-trick in the Champions League.
In September 2021, for the first time in his career, Nkunku scored back-to-back braces. The first brace came in a 6-0 win against Hertha BSC on September 25, and the other a week later in a victory over Vfl Bochum.
He won the Bundesliga Player of the Season in 2021-22, having scored 20 and assisted 13 goals in 34 league fixtures. In the 2022-23 season, he finished joint top scorer (alongside Niclas Fullkrug) with a total of 16 league goals.
Christopher Nkunku International Career
Youth
Nkunku has represented France at under-16, under-19 and under-21 youth levels. In the 2017 FIFA Under-20 World Cup, he made three appearances.
Senior
He got his first senior France call-up for friendlies in March 2022 and debuted as a starter on March 25 against Cote d’Ivoire. On 9 November 2022, Nkunku was named in the Les Bleus 25-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Unfortunately, he was forced to drop out (a week later) before the tournament kick-off after sustaining an injury during a National team training session.
Christopher Nkunku Honors
Paris Saint-Germain
Ligue 1: 2015-16, 2017-18, 2018-19
Coupe de France: 2016-17, 2017-18
Coupe de la Ligue: 2016-17, 2017-18
Trophee des Champions: 2017, 2018
RB Leipzig
DFB-Pokal: 2021-22, 2022-23
Individual Awards
Bundesliga top scorer: 2022-23
Footballer of the Year in Germany: 2022
Bundesliga Player of the Season: 2021-22
Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2021-22
VDV Bundesliga Player of the Season: 2021-22
VDV Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2021-22
Bundesliga Player of the Month: October 2021, February 2022, March 2022, April 2022
UEFA Europa League Team of the Season: 2021-22
Christopher Nkunku Salary
Nkunku is currently earning approximately 1 million Euros annually (19,231 Euros weekly wages) as of June 2023.