Warren Zairre-Emery is only 16, but he has achieved so much already. The talented midfielder is already an established member of the Parisian first-team squad. He already scored his first goal for the French champions and has become the youngest player to start a UEFA Champions League knockout game this year.He’s not from DR Congo, he’s not Unai, but he is Zaire-EmeryThe son of a former Ligue 2 player, Warren began chasing after the ball aged four in the suburbs of Paris. Back then, his grandmother took him everywhere to play with his friends and later to the PSG training centre.”My grandmother was always there for me. She took me everywhere and stayed with me in the morning when my father went to work. She also took me to the Camp des Loges, and later on, she came even if it was raining or snowing. She would put on her shawl and watch the training sessions.”Despite being a big football fan, he had an ambition of becoming a fireman!”Yes, it’s true! If things weren’t going well with football, that was my idea. It’s my identity. I like to be able to help people, I try to do that on a daily basis.”##NAJAVA_MECA_7131897##His football talent took him in another direction, but his need to help his fellow man has always shone through. Even at the age of five, he was the only boy in his team who could do shoelaces – so he did them for all his friends who were still too young to master the elusive skill.”My father always said that I had to learn to tie them quickly, because he wouldn’t be in the dressing room with me and the coach wouldn’t do it for me! So yes, I learned quickly, and at five years old I could tie my shoes. So I was tying my teammates’ laces too! It’s that side of me that likes to help people again. I don’t necessarily go up to people, but I like to help them, so when I can, I do it.”Warren Zaire-Emery #FranceU19 #EquipeDeFrance pic.twitter.com/K2lxbACFsg— LGF PHOTOS (@lgfphotos_) March 22, 2023 After spending a decade with Paris Saint-Germain, Zaire-Emery can say the club is a big part of his life. He and his family used to come to Parc des Princes to watch games, hoping someday he would get to play on that famous pitch. He got the chance much sooner than anyone imagined.”It’s an honour. I’ve been at the club for ten years. I’m delighted to play with players like this. So I’m happy to be here and give my best. I’m someone who doesn’t show his emotions, but when I scored my first goal for the club, anyone could see that I was happy. To do it at Parc des Princes is special. There are the ultras that you hear a bit more, and there is the family in the stands. It’s amazing.”
