Manchester United Youngster Hannibal Mejbri Switches International Allegiance Away From France

Manchester United teenager Hannibal Mejbri has decided to switch his international allegiance from France to Tunisia.

The 18-year-old midfielder represented France Under-16s and Under-17s at youth level, but he is now preparing to be called up for the Tunisia national team.

Mejbri is eligible to play for Tunisia as both of his parents were born in the country.

According to Goal, the United youngster has decided to make the change as he 'feels he is Tunisian rather than French.'

Mejbri, who was born in Ivry-sur-Seine, France, has already turned down the opportunity to represent France Under-18s and Under-19s in recent seasons.

The Red Devils midfielder made 12 appearances for France U16 and three appearances for the U17, which came in the European Under-17 Championship qualification matches.

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Mejbri arrived at Old Trafford in 2019 after United snapped up the highly rated youngster from Monaco.

The former Monaco youth academy product was handed his first United senior appearance on the final day of the season.

Mejbri came off the bench to replace Juan Mata in the 82nd minute of United's 2-1 win over Wolves at the Molineux.

The soon-to-be Tunisia international has impressed at youth level for United and scored five times and registered 10 assists in 26 appearances in all competitions.

Mejbri's fantastic form helped fire him to United's Under-23s Player of the Year award for the 2020-21 campaign.

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He told United's official website: "It's a very proud moment for me and my family.

"I will say thank you to the coaches, to my teammates and everyone who helped me. Thank you very much.

"I think the Under-23s league was good, we did well with a young team and I think we all learned some things.

"The coach helped us a lot, with our technical [play] and how we need to work. For me, personally, it was good. I learned a lot. I had to be stronger.

"I was more consistent in the games and I had more goals and assists than the season before. It's always good to take that step, so it was good."

Topics: Football, Manchester United, Premier League, England, France, Hannibal Mejbri

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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