1. He grew up in Germany's youngest city
The son of a Burundian mother and German father, Thilo Kehrer was born in the university city of Tübingen in the state of Baden-Württemberg in south west Germany, around 20 miles south of the city of Stuttgart, on 21 September 1996. The presence of 27,000-plus students at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen among the total population of around 91,000 mean the city has the lowest median age of any in Germany – 39.1 years. Thilo Kehrer began his football career with local club Tübingen, before joining nearby Reutlingen. At 13, he moved to the Academy of Bundesliga club Stuttgart, spending two years there before taking the decision to move nearly 300 miles north to Gelsenkirchen and join Schalke 04.
2. He's a European U21 Championship winner
Thilo Kehrer was first capped by Germany at U16 level by then coach and former Tottenham Hotspur, Leicester City and Germany midfielder Steffen Freund in May 2012. The then 15-year-old started at right-back and scored on his debut in a 5-0 friendly victory over Denmark in Gifhorn. He went on to earn 33 caps at age-group level from U16 to U21, appearing in the UEFA European U21 Championship semi-final win over England on Germany's way to winning the tournament in Poland in June 2017.
3. He was just 22 when he made his senior Germany debut
Thilo Kehrer made his senior Germany debut as a substitute in a 2-1 friendly international win over Peru in Sinsheim – home to Bundesliga club Hoffenheim – in September 2018. His maiden start for his country came the following month in a 2-1 UEFA Nations League defeat by France in Paris – the city he had moved to that summer to join Paris Saint-Germain.
4. He cares about the community
Since March 2018, Thilo Kehrer has been the patron of the Germany-based international aid organization Anstoss zur Hoffnung, which is committed to helping disadvantaged people and children in the African countries of Burundi – the country of his mother’s birth – and Kenya through sustainable projects and local partners.
5. Roberto Di Matteo gave him his senior debut
After winning a number of competitions with Schalke 04’s youth team, Thilo Kehrer was named in the club’s first-team squad for the first time for a Bundesliga fixture at his former club Stuttgart in December 2014, aged 18 years and three months, by manager and former Chelsea and Italy midfielder Roberto Di Matteo. His full debut arrived in February 2016, when Di Matteo’s successor André Breitenreiter sent him on as a late substitute in a 3-0 home win over Wolfsburg.
6. He joined Paris Saint-Germain for £33m
After establishing himself during the 2016/17 Bundesliga season and scoring his first Bundesliga goal against Borussia Dortmund in April 2017, and making 59 first-team appearances in total for Schalke 04, Thilo Kehrer joined Paris Saint-Germain for a £33m fee in August 2018.
7. He won medals galore with PSG
Thilo Kehrer made 128 appearances across four seasons for Paris Saint-Germain – including 26 as a teammate of Alphonse Areola. He won three Ligue 1 titles and started the French club’s 2020 and 2021 French Cup final victories over Saint-Étienne and Monaco respectively and the French Champions Trophy wins over Rennes in 2019, as well as the 2020 UEFA Champions League final defeat by Bayern Munich. He also appeared as a substitute in PSG’s 2020 French League Cup final win over Olympique Lyonnais.
8. He's Hansi Flick's favourite player
No player has made more appearances (eleven) or played more minutes (956) under Germany manager Hansi Flick since he took charge of the national team in May last year and has never ended on the losing side. Kehrer started seven FIFA World Cup qualifiers and won them all, conceding just two goals.
