interesting facts about Manuel Akanji

Sultan Lobster
3 min readDec 7, 2022

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Manuel Akanji is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for German Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund and the Switzerland national team. He was born in Zurich to Nigerian parents and represents Switzerland internationally. Akanji began his career with FC Zurich, making his professional debut in 2013. He won the Swiss Super League title in 2016–17. In January 2018, Akanji transferred to Borussia Dortmund for a fee of €21.5 million. He made his debut for Dortmund in February 2018 and has since made over 50 appearances for the club. Akanji has also represented Switzerland at various youth levels. He made his senior debut in March 2018 and was part of the Swiss squad that reached the round of 16 at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Who is Manuel Akanji?

Manuel Akanji is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for German Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund and the Switzerland national team.

Akanji was born in Zurich to Nigerian parents. He began his youth career with local club FC Zurich before joining Basel’s academy in 2012. He made his professional debut for Basel in 2015, winning the Swiss Super League in his first season with the club. Akanji was sold to Dortmund for a reported fee of €21.5 million in January 2018.

Akanji has represented Switzerland at various youth levels since 2013. He made his senior debut in a friendly against Faroe Islands in September 2017, and went on to make five appearances during Switzerland’s successful 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign.

His Early Life and Career

Manuel Akanji was born in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland on July 19, 1995. He is of Nigerian descent. He began his career with FC Basel’s academy in 2005. He made his first team debut in 2013 and played a key role in the club’s Swiss Super League title win in 2016. Akanji signed for German Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund in January 2018 for a fee of €21.5 million. He has represented Switzerland at various youth levels and made his senior debut in 2017.

His Professional Career

Manuel Akanji is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for German Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund and the Switzerland national team. He began his professional career with FC Basel, winning the Swiss Super League in each of his three seasons with the club. In January 2018, he transferred to Dortmund for a fee of €21.5 million.

Akanji was born in Zurich, Switzerland to Nigerian parents. He began playing football at a young age and joined FC Zurich’s youth academy in 2006. He spent four years with Zurich before moving to FC Basel’s academy in 2010. He progressed through Basel’s youth ranks and made his first-team debut in 2014. He quickly established himself as a regular starter for Basel and helped the club win three consecutive Swiss Super League titles between 2015 and 2017.

In January 2018, Akanji transferred to German Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund for a fee of €21.5 million. He made his Dortmund debut later that month and has since become a key member of the team’s defence. Akanji represented Switzerland at various youth levels before making his senior debut in 2016. He was part of Switzerland’s squad at Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup.

His Personal Life

Manuel Akanji’s personal life is shrouded in mystery. The only known facts about him are that he was born in Switzerland and is of Nigerian descent. He is currently single and lives in Zurich.

Interesting Facts about Manuel Akanji

- Manuel Akanji is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a defender for German Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund and the Switzerland national team.

- Akanji was born in Zurich, Switzerland to Nigerian parents.

- He began his youth career with FC Zurich before transferring to Basel in 2012.

- Akanji made his senior debut for Basel in 2014 and went on to make over 100 appearances for the club.

- He won the Swiss Super League title in each of his four seasons with Basel.

- In January 2018, Akanji transferred to Borussia Dortmund for a fee of €21.5 million.

- He made his international debut for Switzerland in March 2017 and has represented his country at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2020.

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