Manuel Akanji #5

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Has developed into a world-class defender at Manchester City and Inter and, together with Granit Xhaka, an undisputed leader for the national team. His father is from Nigeria and his middle name “Obafemi” means “beloved of the king”, which is why he had a crown tattooed on his left forearm. Another tattoo – “Prove them wrong” – was inked after doubts that he would make it all the way while with the FC Winterthur youth teams. He even overcame an ACL injury at Basel to continue his rise to the top. At the start of 2018, aged just 22, he moved to Borussia Dortmund for £23.5m and four years later to Manchester City, where he won the treble in 2023. Akanji is also good with numbers; he once vowed the whole of Switzerland with his mental arithmetic skills on a TV show. The video went viral.

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