The stats behind Warren Zaïre-Emery's flourishing PSG rise

Young French midfielder Warren Zaïre-Emery turned 18 last Friday and is quickly becoming a key player for Paris Saint-Germain in Luis Enrique’s midfield machine.

Zaïre-Emery’s game has been defined by a calm demeanour, a mature reading of the game, resistance to pressing, and a solid mastering of the ball as last season’s youngest Ligue 1 Uber Eats player (16 years and 151 days) who never ceases to amaze. 

This season the Paris-suburb native has already featured in 30 games, starting 25 times in all competitions. In Ligue 1 Uber Eats the Parisian has already played in 46 matches, with four goals and two assists, as well as holding one of the best passing success rates in the opposition half (91.6%). In the history of the league, only Basile Boli had more appearances at the age of 18 (56).

One of Zaïre-Emery’s most admirable features at the moment is his raw talent. The PSG starlet already has several records to his name.

Being the ‘youngest’ record-breaker 

It was the ‘titi’, who arrived at PSG at the age of 8, who was decisive for PSG in December against Dortmund to snatch a place in the last 16 of the Champions League by equalising (1-1). That day, he became France’s youngest ever Champions League goalscorer, ahead of Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappé. And like the captain of the French team, he is racking up the records.

In October, he became the first player in PSG’s history to make his 20th start in all competitions before the age of 18. His three Champions League assists in October made him the youngest player to record three assists in the Champions League since 2003/2004, according to Opta.

Also in the Champions League, the player who came of age last Friday has managed to rank among the most successful youngsters. At 18, he is as good as Jude Bellingham and Youri Tielemans in terms of the number of games played (10), and his eight starts mean that he is second only to Real’s Englishman at the top of the table.

Finally, only Yamine Lamal (16 years and 223 days on 21 February with Barcelona at Napoli) has started a match in the Champions League knockout phase younger than Warren Zaire-Emery (16 years and 343 days on 14 February 2023 against Bayern Munich).

Above all, in November he became the youngest French international since 1911 when he injured his ankle against Gibraltar in Nice. “It’s true that things happen quickly, but I’m not asking myself any questions,” he said at the time.

The youngest player in PSG colours to break records

WZE also holds a number of records in the history of the Parisian club: 

– He is the youngest player to have played a match for Paris in all competitions, at 16 years and 151 days at Clermont on 6 August 2022 in Ligue 1 Uber Eats.

– On 1 February 2023, he also became the club’s youngest ever goalscorer in all competitions (16 years and 330 days at Montpellier in Ligue 1 Uber Eats).

The Frenchman also topped the main rankings among Parisians at the age of 18. He is both top scorer (5), equal with Ogbeche and ahead of Kouassi, and No. 1 in terms of games played (61) and starts (35) in all competitions.

Kylian Mbappé : ‘He is fascinating’ 

Already used extensively last season by Christophe Galtier, with whom he made his debut in August 2022, the No.33 has become indispensable under Luis Enrique, confirming his phenomenal promise. In 2023/24, he has by far the most playing time of any Under-20 in the top flight (1,510 minutes).

“He’s played virtually every game since the start of the season,” Luis Enrique was keen to point out, and “what’s important is sometimes to take players off and put them in the rotation to watch the others.

“He’s fallen from the sky, he ticks all the boxes: he’s a hard worker, he’s humble and he’s serene,” a source inside PSG told AFP, as he continues to attend lessons in the afternoon to prepare for his school exams after training in the morning.

“He’s fascinating,” said his new Les Bleus team-mate Kylian Mbappé, who has witnessed him grow up at PSG.

Luis Enrique on WZE: “I’ve never seen a player as intelligent as he is in compensating for what his team-mates do. For a coach, that’s priceless, it’s something that few people see,” said Luis Enrique at the end of February, hoping that “he’ll have that hunger for the next few years because he’s a vital player for us”.