A versatile Belgian professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund and the Belgium national team with a jersey number 24 is named for Thomas Meunier. He is famous for his international club career and time spent as a member of the Belgian national team. In 2016, he signed with French Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain FC to be their starting right back en route to their 2016 and 2017 Trophee des Champions wins. Thomas began his youth career at age 5 in the RUS Saint-Ode youth academy and moved to Belgian club Virton in 2006, with whom he would make his professional debut in 2009. He scored his first-ever goal playing for Belgium in November 2016 during qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup.
Borussia Dortmund Internationals: Thomas Meunier stars as Belgium beat Russia in Euro 2020 opener
Thomas Meunier scored one goal and assisted another as Belgium began their Euro 2020 campaign with a straight-forward 3-0 win over Russia. Meunier came off the bench to replace the injured Timothy Castagne at right wing-back. And he made his impact on the game immediately. The Borussia Dortmund right-back reacted quickly to turn the ball into the back of the net after Thorgan Hazard’s cross was parried by the goalkeeper. Thomas then played Lukaku in on goal with a gorgeous through ball late on, and the Inter Milan striker scored his second goal of the game to seal an impressive win for Belgium.
Famous For
- Being a professional footballer.
- Being a right-back for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund.
Source: @thestar
Where is Thomas Meunier born?
Thomas Meunier stepped for the very first time into this world on 12th September 1991 in his birthplace, Sainte-Ode, Belgium. As he was born in Belgium, he is Belgian by nationality. He came from Belgian-white ethnic background. Meunier’s race is white and his religion is Christian. He has celebrated his 29th birthday as of 2020 which is his present age. As per his birthdate, his zodiac sign is Virgo. He was the second of two children born of the union between his mother Veronique Meunier (a nurse) and his father (an electrician who played amateur football at the time). Thus, he has a sibling, a sister.
How was the Career of Thomas Meunier?
Virton
- Thomas Meunier jumps off his football career playing for various youth teams, starting with RUS Saint-Ode, RUS Givry, and Standard Liege whereas he began to play professionally for Virton’s first team in the first half of 2009, making his debut for the club, in a 1-1 draw against K.F.C. V.W. Hamme on 31st January 2009.
- His first goal of the 2010-2011 season came on 22nd August 2010 when he scored in a 3-0 win over C.S. Vise.
- He then scored twice on 2nd October 2010, in a 4-0 win over RFC Liege, and then scored two goals in two matches between 30th January 2011 and 6th February 2011 against R. Charleroi Couillet Fleurus and KSKL Ternat.
- Meunier made 52 appearances and scored 15 goals in all competitions for Virton’s first team from 2009 to 2011.
Club Brugge
- Thomas was signed by Club Brugge from Belgian Third Division team Virton in January 2011 for a transfer fee of 200,000 euros, with the actual transfer to be completed during the 2011 summer transfer window.
- Club Brugge played its first match of the 2011-2012 season against Westerlo in which Meunier was allowed to play the final 20 minutes on 31st July 2011.
- Meunier scored three goals in five appearances in all competitions between 16th October 2011 and 3rd November 2011 against Gent, Genk, and Birmingham City.
- He established himself in the first team, playing in the midfield position since making his debut for Club Brugge. He signed a contract extension, keeping him until 2016.
- He finished his first season at Club Brugge, making 49 appearances and scoring 5 times in all competitions. His goal against Genk earned him third place for Goal of the Season at the end of the 2011-2012 season.
- He began the season well when he scored in the first four league matches against Waasland-Beveren, Charleroi, KV Mechelen, and Beerschot.
- It wasn’t until on 18th February 2014 when he scored his first goal for the club, in a 5-2 win over OH Leuven.
- He then scored twice on 16th March 2014, in a 2-0 win over Cercle Brugge whereas he began the season well when he set up one of the goals, in a 2-0 win over Waasland-Beveren in the 2015-2015 season.
- He scored his first goal of the season, in a 4-2 win over Waasland-Beveren on 22nd November 2014 and signed a new contract with the club in January 2015, keeping him until 2019.
- Meunier played every minute of the 2015 Belgian Cup Final against rivals RSC Anderlecht, which ended in a 2-1 win for Club Brugge which enabled it to win its first Belgian Cup since 2007.
- Later, he scored his first goal of the season on 23rd September 2015, as well as, setting up a goal, in a 4-0 win over Patro Eisden.
- On 5th November 2015, he scored in the UEFA Europa League campaign once again, in a 1-0 win over Legia Warsaw.
- As well, he captained Club Brugge for the first time when he led a 4-1 win over KV Mechelen on 30th November 2015.
Paris Saint-Germain
- Paris Saint-Germain announced on 3rd July 2016 that Thomas had just joined PSG on a four-year deal that would tie him to the club until 30th June 2020. The transfer fee was reported to be 7 million euros.
- He scored twice to help PSG to a 3-1 win in the 2016 International Champions Cup friendly match against Real Madrid in Ohio.
- He made his first competitive appearance for PSG by coming on as a substitute for David Luiz in the 76th minute of the 2016 Trophee des Champions on 6th August 2016.
- He made his league debut for the club and played 28 minutes in a 3-1 loss against AS Monaco on 28th August 2016 after being an unused substitute for PSG’s first two league matches of the 2016-2017 season.
- On 1st November 2016, Thomas assisted Blaise Matuidi’s opening goal and scored the winning goal with a stunning 90th-minute side-footed curling volley in PSG’s 2-1 away win over Basel in a 2016-2017 UEFA Champions League Group A match; it was his first competitive goal for PSG.
- He scored his first league goal for the club, in a 5-0 win over Lorient on 21st December 2016n and received more playing time throughout January 2017 as a right-20back because Aurier had to play for his national team in the finals of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.
- He continued to compete for a first-team place with Aurier towards the end of the 2016-2017 season and made 36 appearances and scored twice in all competitions during the 2016-2017 season.
- He was the subject of a transfer when Premier League side Chelsea tried to sign him on the transfer window deadline day but had their bid rejected by PSG during the summer transfer window of 2017.
- Thomas played his first competitive match of the season by starting as the right-back At the start of the 2017-2018 season, in the 2-1 win over AS Monaco in the 2017 Trophee des Champions.
- He finally made his first league appearance of the season, replacing Dani Alves and then setting up a goal for Edinson Cavani, in a 3-0 home win over Saint-Etienne on 25th August 2017. It was not until 30th September 2017 when he scored his first goal of the season for the club, in a 6-2 league home win over Bordeaux.
- Meunier began in the right-back position and assisted two goals, in a 4-2 win over RC Strasbourg on 13th December 2017 as well as he scored again in the semi-finals of Coupe de la Ligue on 30th January 2018, in a 3-2 win over Stade Rennais. He then scored his fourth goal of the season, in a 5-0 win over FC Metz on 10th March 2018.
- Thomas regained his right-back position in a number of matches when Alves was absent from the first team towards the end of the 2017-2018 season, due to injury and suspension.
- He came off the bench as PSG won 2-0 against Les Herbiers VF to clinch the Coupe de France on 8th May 2018 whereas he also won his first league title at PSG after beating Monaco on 15 April 2018. At the end of the 2017-2018 season, he went on to make 34 appearances and scoring 5 times in all competitions.
- He scored a goal in a 2-3 loss to Liverpool in 2018-2019 UEFA Champions League group stage on 18th September 2018 and he came on as a substitute in a 1-3 loss to Manchester United on 6th March 2019, in which Paris Saint-Germain was eliminated from the Champions League round of 16 on away goals.
- He scored a goal in a 3-0 win over Real Madrid on 18th September 2019 in the 2019-2020 UEFA Champions League group stage.
- He also played his last match with Paris Saint-Germain in a 5-1 win over Lyon in the 2019-2020 Coupe de France semi-final on 4th March 2020.
Borussia Dortmund
- It was announced on 25th June 2020 that Thomas Meunier would be joining Borussia Dortmund from PSG on a four-year deal as a free agent.
Source: @twitter
International career
- Thomas was called up for the Belgium U21 team for the first time in February 2011 but did not play after appearing for the Belgium U15 team.
- He was called up for the second time in August 2011 and finally making his Belgium U21 debut on 9th August 2011, in a 3-2 friendly loss against Turkey U21.
- Then he scored his first U21 goal on 6th September 2011, in the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualification 4-1 home win over Azerbaijan U21.
- Later, he made his debut for the Belgian national team in a home-friendly match against Colombia after being called up to the senior side for the first time, on 14th November 2013, which was prepared for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
- He also appeared as a substitute for two further friendlies, against Japan (2-3 loss) and Iceland (3-1 win), but was not included in coach Marc Wilmots’ final 23-man squad for the tournament.
- Meunier was also called up in November 2014 and made his first appearance in almost a year, in a 3-1 win over Iceland on 12th November 2014.
- On 13th November 2016, just five months after the conclusion of UEFA Euro 2016, Meunier scored in the 8th minute in Belgium’s 8-1 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualification win over Estonia at the King Baudouin Stadium to register his first-ever senior international goal.
- He recorded his first career senior international hat-trick in Belgium’s 9-0 defeat of Gibraltar on 31st August 2017.
- He scored the opening goal of Belgium’s 4-3 defeat of Bosnia and Herzegovina to end the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign with five goals and seven assists from eight matches on 7th October 2017.
- He was later selected to Belgium’s final 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup as well as he was Belgium’s first-choice right midfielder and played his first World Cup match, in a 3-0 win over Panama in their opening group game at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
- Thomas played another role when he set up for Nacer Chadli to score in injury time to lift Belgium to a 3-2 victory over Japan in the Round of 16 of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
- After a 2-1 win over Brazil on 6th July 2018, he received another booking, which caused him to miss a match in the semi-finals.
- Then, he returned from suspension on 14th July 2018, scoring the opening goal of the match for Belgium in a 2-0 victory against England in their third-place play-off, his nation’s best-ever World Cup finish.
Awards and Achivements
Club Brugge
- Belgian Pro League: 2015-2016
- Belgian Cup: 2014-2015
Paris Saint Germain
- Ligue 1: 2017-2018, 2018-2019, 2019-2020
- Coupe de France: 2017-2018, 2019-2020; runner-up: 2018-2019
- Coupe de la Ligue: 2016-2017, 2017-2018, 2019-2020
- Trophee des Champions: 2016, 2017, 2019
- UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2019-2020
Borussia Dortmund
Belgium
- FIFA World Cup third-place: 2018
Orders
- Godefroid of Honour: 2016
Who is Thomas Meunier Dating?
Unmarried footballer, Thomas Meunier is currently dating his beautiful girlfriend Deborah Panzokou, having known each other since high school. It was announced in May 2015 that the couple was expecting their first child. Deborah gave birth to a baby boy, Landrys, (born in December 2015). In October 2017, it was announced that the couple was expecting their second child, who was born in April 2018. In 2020, after being pregnant for the third time, Deborah gave birth to the couple’s third child. Concerning Meunier’s sexual orientation, he straight.
Source: @gettyimages
Furthermore, Meunier was fined 120 euros and given a 13-day driving ban after being convicted of speeding in November 2012. After his conviction, Meunier began taking driving lessons again
How much is Thomas Meunier Net Worth?
The net worth of Thomas Meunier is estimated at around $7 million as of 2021. He earns 52,000 pounds per week, 2,704,000 pounds per year playing for Borussia Dortmund as a D/WB (R), M (RC). He is receiving an annual salary of $3.2 million from his club. Besides his earnings from football, he too earns some amounts through his catering business in his hometown of Bastogne. Perhaps, he isn’t linked with any endorsing brands or companies. His recent market value price is recorded to be $10 million. Meunier’s major source of income is from his football career.
How tall is Thomas Meunier?
Standing at a tall height of 6 ft 3 in / 191 cm, Thomas Meunier’s body weighs around 172 lb / 78 kg. He has brown hair and dark brown eyes color. He has maintained his shape over the years with regular exercise it seems. Blessed with great height and physique, he is athletic by body build.
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