Kobbie Boateng Mainoo (born 19 April 2005) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

and the England national team. Mainoo is a graduate of Manchester United's youth system and won the

Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year Manchester United Football Club Under-21s is the most senior of Manchester United F.C., Manchester United's youth teams and the club's former reserve team. They play in the Premier League 2, the highest tier of the Professional Development Leag ...

award in 2023. He made his first-team debut in an

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

match in January 2023. Mainoo played for England from under-17 youth level, before making his debut for the senior team in March 2024.

Early life

Kobbie Boateng Mainoo was born on 19 April 2005 in

Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...

, Greater Manchester, to parents from Ghana. His older brother is Jordan Mainoo-Hames, who appeared as a contestant on the fifth series of ''

Love Island Love Island may refer to: Film * ''Love Island'' (1952 film), an American film directed by Adam Lloyd starring Todd Wathen and Eva Gabor * ''Love Island'' (2014 film), directed by Jasmila Žbanić Music * ''Love Island'' (album), a 1978 album ...

''. He was raised in Cheadle Hulme, a suburb of Stockport, and started his youth career at Cheadle & Gatley Junior Football Club. He was scouted for

at the age of six, signed up at the age of seven, and joined the academy at the age of nine.

Club career

Manchester United

2022–23

Mainoo signed his first professional contract with Manchester United in May 2022. His performances earned him a call-up to the first-team squad for training in October. Mainoo was named on the bench for the first time on 16 October, for a

match against

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

, followed by making his senior debut on 10 January 2023, starting in a 3–0 home win over

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

in the

. He made his league debut on 19 February by coming on as a substitute in a 3–0 home win against Leicester City in the

2023–24

Mainoo travelled with the Manchester United squad on their 2023–24 pre-season tour in the United States. However, he picked up an injury which kept him out for the start of the upcoming season. Returning from injury, Mainoo made his first league start for Manchester United on 26 November 2023, in a 3–0

victory away to Everton, in which he was named

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

. On 29 November, he made his

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

debut, coming off the bench in a group stage 3–3 away draw against Galatasaray. On 28 January 2024, Mainoo scored his first goal for Manchester United in a 4–2 win away to Newport County in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

fourth round. A few days later, on 1 February, he scored his first Premier League goal in a 4–3 away victory over

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

, with the winning goal coming in the seventh minute of

stoppage time Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

. The goal was later awarded

Premier League Goal of the Month The Premier League Goal of the Month is an association football award that recognises the player who is deemed to have scored the best Premier League goal each month of the season from August to April. The winner is chosen by a combination of ...

for February 2024. On 7 April, he netted his first professional goal at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...

in a 2–2 draw with

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

in the Premier League. In the FA Cup final, Mainoo scored the eventual winning goal in a 2–1 victory over local rivals

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

. He became the first English teenager to score in a final since

Steve MacKenzie Stephen MacKenzie (born 23 November 1961) is an English former footballer who played mostly as an attacking midfielder. Playing career After beginning as an apprentice at Crystal Palace, he signed for Manchester City in 1979 for £250,000, th ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

and the youngest since

John Sissons John "Jack" Howard Sissons (July 14, 1892 – November 11, 1969) was a Canadian barrister, author, judge and federal politician. Early life Sissons was born in Orillia, Ontario and, at the age of four, contracted polio, which injured his le ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

. His performances for the season were widely praised, with him being nominated for the Premier League Young Player of the Season award.

International career

Mainoo has represented England at under-17, under-18, and under-19 youth levels, and at the

senior level Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

. In March 2024, Mainoo was called up to the senior squad for the first time for England's

friendlies An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against Brazil and Belgium, after previously being drafted for the under-21s. Aged 18, he made his debut on 23 March as a substitute for Conor Gallagher in a 1–0 defeat to Brazil at Wembley Stadium. He made his first England start in a 2–2 draw against Belgium, in which he was named man of the match. On 6 June, Mainoo was named in England's 26-man squad for UEFA Euro 2024. He made his competitive debut in the team's opening match, playing the last four minutes as a substitute for Jude Bellingham in a 1–0 win over Serbia. On 25 June, he played the second half against Slovenia in a 0–0 draw in the team's final group stage match, replacing Conor Gallagher at half time. In the round of 16 match against Slovakia, he became the third-youngest player to start for England at a knockout stage of a major tournament in a 2–1 win. On 10 July, in a 2–1 win in the semi-finals against Netherlands, he became the youngest England player to play a semi-final of a major tournament. Four days later, he started in the final, which ended in a 2–1 defeat to Spain.

Style of play

Mainoo is primarily a central midfielder who is also capable of playing as a defensive midfielder and attacking midfielder. An intelligent and composed player, he excels in driving the ball forward, using his dribbling skills to navigate through tight spaces and evade defenders. Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has compared his style of play to that of Clarence Seedorf. Manager Erik ten Hag has praised his ability to "quickly adapt to high levels", as well as his willingness to progress and develop as a player. Pundit and former United midfielder Paul Scholes praised him, saying that "Just love the way he receives the ball, the calmness, the awareness of what's around him, and of course big goals in big games."

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Manchester United U18 *

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

: 2021–22 Manchester United * FA Cup: 2023–24 England * UEFA European Championship runner-up:

2024 Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1928 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ***''Steamboat Willie'', Walt Disney's fi ...

Individual *

: February 2024 *

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

References

External links

Profile
at the Manchester United F.C. website
Profile
at the Football Association website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mainoo, Kobbie 2005 births Living people Footballers from Stockport English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Manchester United F.C. players Premier League players England men's youth international footballers England men's international footballers UEFA Euro 2024 players Black British sportsmen English people of Ghanaian descent Sportspeople of Ghanaian descent