Mukiele

Before his move to Germany, Mukiele was first and foremost an Île-de-France boy. Born in Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis, his first taste of football came in the capital, as he played for Paris FC between the ages of six and 15. This was enough to catch the attention of Stade Lavallois, with Mukiele joining their academy in order to fully learn the ropes as a defender. Standing at 6 ft 1 in tall, the young Nordi hurtled up through the club’s youth ranks, making his professional debut at just 17.

After being propelled into the French top flight by Montpellier three years later, he became a regular starter in Hérault before emigrating to Germany in 2018. In his four years at RB Leipzig, the robust defender matured into an athletic wing-back armed with a solid level of experience, having made 140 appearances, including 23 in the UEFA Champions League.

It was a dimension shift that Paris Saint-Germain got the chance to inspect closely after they came up against him on five occasions in the two sides’ European encounters. Having already crossed paths with the club, then, it’s something of a homecoming for Mukiele, as the player who left the Paris region at the age of 15 returns to the capital less than ten years later to become one of Paris Saint-Germain’s 2022 summer signings.

In 2022/2023, he played 23 matches and was crowned Ligue 1 Champion with Les Rouge et Bleu - his first league title in one of the top 5 European leagues.