02.09.2026 13:20
The career of El Chadaille Bitshiabu, with whom Galatasaray has begun official talks to add to their squad from Leipzig, is full of extraordinary stories. At just 11 years old, the French center-back reached 1.80 meters, and his opponents, not believing his age, would check his license. At 12, his height reached 1.90 meters. Bitshiabu, who broke an age record at PSG, has now crossed paths with Galatasaray after a Leipzig spell marred by injuries.
El Chadaille Bitshiabu's football story began during his primary school years. The school principal called his father to school, not because of his lessons, but because of football. Bitshiabu constantly kicked the school's balls to hard-to-reach places. After showing the approximately 20 balls that were stuck up high to his father, the principal also offered the solution: Enroll him in a football school.
Born on May 16, 2005, in the Villeneuve-Saint-Georges district of Paris, Bitshiabu was introduced to football at just 3 years old thanks to his grandmother. His father, Willy Bitshiabu, enrolled his son in US Saint-Denis a few years later.
HE WAS 1.80 M TALL AT AGE 11
During Bitshiabu's childhood years, the feature that attracted the most attention from his opponents was his physique. When he was just 11 years old and playing at the U12 level, he was approximately 1.80 meters tall.
Opposing club officials found it hard to believe his age and wanted to see his license almost every week. At the International Gif Cup, Inter officials also disputed the young footballer's age.
REACHED 1.90 METERS AT AGE 12
PSG began tracking Bitshiabu just a few weeks after he joined ACBB. The French giants added the young footballer to their ranks when he was 11.5 years old.
By 2018, Bitshiabu was just 12 years old but was 1.90 meters tall and weighed 78 kilograms. He trained with footballers older than himself, played in U14 matches, and worked with the U15 team. Barcelona, Manchester City, and Arsenal were also among the clubs following his development at that time.
HE WAS ACTUALLY A GOALSCORER
Another striking detail in Bitshiabu's career is that he did not start football as a center-back. In his early years, the young player served as a forward and defensive midfielder; it was PSG that pulled him into the center of defense.
Bitshiabu explained that he especially developed his long, line-breaking passes and later used the technical qualities he gained at a young age to build play from the back.
EVEN MBAPPE WAS SURPRISED WHEN HE HEARD HIS AGE
Bitshiabu's physique also caused astonishment in PSG's first team. According to his own account, Kylian Mbappe was surprised when he saw a footballer in front of him who was 1.96 meters tall and weighed 96 kilograms. However, his real surprise came when he learned Bitshiabu's age.
The young defender signed his first professional contract with PSG at the age of 16. When he took to the field in the Coupe de France in December 2021, he was 16 years, 7 months, and 3 days old, making him the youngest footballer to play in an official match for PSG at that time. This record was later broken by Warren Zaire-Emery.
REAL MADRID, CITY, AND BAYERN CHASED HIM
By the time Bitshiabu turned 15, he had reached 1.95 meters and 96 kilograms. European giants such as Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Leipzig, and Milan were interested in the young footballer.
However, his father, Willy Bitshiabu, stated that their priority was not money but his son's education and personal development, explaining that they preferred to stay in France.
HE WENT TO LEIPZIG FOR 15 MILLION EUROS
Bitshiabu, who could not find as much regular playing time as he wanted at PSG, transferred to Leipzig in the summer of 2023 for approximately 15 million euros. However, he faced a serious misfortune at the beginning of his German adventure.
During the preparation period, the young center-back tore his medial collateral ligament and was sidelined for months. He could only get his first minutes in the Bundesliga in February 2024 and spent a significant part of his first season at Leipzig in rehabilitation.
NOW HIS PATH HAS CROSSED WITH GALATASARAY
For Bitshiabu, who has been talked about for his physique throughout most of his career, Galatasaray stepped in at the final stage of the transfer window. The yellow-reds began official negotiations with Leipzig regarding the loan transfer of the young defender. The 1.96-meter-tall center-back, still just 21 years old, has embarked on an extraordinary career journey from the days when opponents refused to believe his age and checked his license as a child, to breaking records at PSG, then moving to Leipzig, and now to Galatasaray.