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Marcus Thuram

Marcus Lilian Thuram-Ulien (French pronunciation: [maʁkys tyʁam]; born 6 August 1997) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie A club Inter Milan and the France national team.

Club career

Sochaux

Thuram started his professional career at Sochaux, where he also played for the club's youth team. He made his Ligue 2 debut on 20 March 2015 against Châteauroux, replacing Edouard Butin on 83 minutes. He played 43 total matches for Sochaux and scored one goal, in a 3–1 loss at Tours on 14 April 2017.

Guingamp

On 5 July 2017, Thuram joined Ligue 1 club Guingamp for an undisclosed fee. In August 2018, he gained attention for playing against Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, a long-term teammate of his father at Parma and Juventus.

Thuram scored an added-time penalty on 9 January 2019 to eliminate holders PSG from the quarter-finals of the Coupe de la Ligue, having earlier missed from the spot in the 2–1 win at the Parc des Princes. Twenty days later he scored the equaliser in a 2–2 home draw with Monaco in the semi-final, and his attempt in the subsequent penalty shootout was saved by Danijel Subašić though Guingamp nonetheless advanced.

Borussia Mönchengladbach

2019–20: Debut season

On 22 July 2019, Borussia Mönchengladbach announced they had signed Thuram on a four-year deal. The transfer fee paid to Guingamp was reported as €12 million. He was given the number 10 shirt, vacated by Thorgan Hazard after his move to Borussia Dortmund. He made his debut for Gladbach on 9 August in the first round of the DFB-Pokal away to 2. Bundesliga club SV Sandhausen, and scored the only goal. He got his first Bundesliga goals on his fifth appearance on 22 September, scoring both of a 2–1 home win over Fortuna Düsseldorf.

On 31 May 2020, Thuram scored twice in a 4–1 win over Union Berlin. He took a knee after his first goal of the match and dedicated the strike in honour of ongoing protests in the United States following the murder of George Floyd.

2021–2023: Later seasons and Champions League qualification

On 27 October 2020, Thuram scored twice in a 2–2 draw with Real Madrid in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. On 19 December, Thuram was sent off for spitting in the face of opponent Stefan Posch as Gladbach fell to a 2–1 defeat to Hoffenheim, and was given a six-match ban and a €40,000 fine.

Thuram failed to score in his first 15 Bundesliga matches of the 2021–22 Bundesliga season. He later scored only three goals, one each against Wolfsburg, Stuttgart and Greuther Fürth.

As of November 2022, Thuram managed to score 10 goals in 15 Bundesliga matches, in which he equaled his personal best since the debut season.

In April 2023, Gladbach's sporting director Roland Virkus confirmed that Thuram would depart the club at the end of the 2022–23 campaign, having chosen not to renew his contract.

Inter Milan

On 1 July 2023, Thuram was officially signed as a free agent by the Serie A team, Inter Milan. His contract with the club is set to last until June 2028. On 3 September, he scored his first goal in a 4–0 win over Fiorentina. On 3 October, he scored his first Champions League goal for the club in a 1–0 victory over Benfica in the group stage, becoming the third Frenchman to score in this competition for Inter after Youri Djorkaeff (1998 vs Sturm Graz) and Patrick Vieira (2006 vs Bayern Munich).

International career

Thuram was a member of France U19 which won the 2016 UEFA European Championship. In November 2020, he was called up for the first time to the senior team, ahead of games against Finland, Portugal and Sweden. He debuted on 11 November in a friendly against the Finns, a 2–0 loss at the Stade de France. He was called up for the delayed UEFA Euro 2020 in May 2021.

On 14 November 2022, Thuram received a late call-up for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, raising the squad to 26 players. In the final against Argentina, he and Randal Kolo Muani were brought on in place of Ousmane Dembélé and Olivier Giroud with France losing 2–0 in the 41st minute. He assisted Kylian Mbappé's equalizer to make it 2–2 at the end of regulation time, and was also booked for diving in the penalty area; France lost in a penalty shootout after a 3–3 draw. On 7 September, he scored his first international goal in a 2–0 win over Ireland during the Euro 2024 qualifying.

Personal life

Thuram is the son of the former French international footballer Lilian Thuram, and the older brother of the professional footballer Khéphren Thuram. He was born in the Italian city of Parma while his father played for the club, and was named after Jamaican activist Marcus Garvey. Despite his father playing for Juventus and Barcelona, he as a child supported Milan and Real Madrid.