Christopher Nkunku

Lore & Background

Nkunku is a graduate of the Paris Saint-Germain Academy and made his professional debut for the club in December 2015. He made 78 appearances for them and won the Ligue 1 title thrice, the Coupe de France twice, and the Coupe de la Ligue twice. He moved to the German side RB Leipzig in July 2019, with whom he scored 70 goals in 172 appearances over four seasons and won the DFB-Pokal twice. He was named the Bundesliga Player of the Season in the 2021–22 campaign and was the league's top scorer the following season. Nkunku was signed by Chelsea in 2023 for £52 million. After spending two years in Chelsea, he joined AC Milan in 2025. Nkunku represented France at multiple youth international levels, before making his debut for the senior national team in March 2022.

Reader's Guide

Nkunku is known for his 1v1 abilities due to his dribbling skills and burst of pace which enable opportunities for him to separate from his mark with space to look for a pass or shot. He is a right-footed attacker who can play centrally or out wide. Nkunku is known for a unique goal celebration where he inflates a balloon in the color of his team (red during his time at RB Leipzig and AC Milan, and blue at Chelsea) which he usually carries in his sock. He has explained that the celebration is for his son, who likes balloons.

Did You Know?

• Nkunku scored his first professional goal in a 7–0 home win against Bastia in the Coupe de France on 7 January 2017.
• He provided four assists in a 5–0 victory over Schalke 04 on 22 February 2020, becoming just the second player in recent Bundesliga history to do so.
• Nkunku scored a hat-trick for Leipzig in their 6–3 defeat to Manchester City in the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League, the first hat-trick in the club's Champions League history.
• He was named in the 25-man French squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup but withdrew due to a knee injury sustained in training.
• Nkunku scored his first goal for the senior France national team on 10 October 2024 in a 4–1 away win against Israel.