Khéphren Thuram-Ulien (; born 26 March 2001) is a French 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 lea ...
who plays as a
defensive midfielder
In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...
for club
Juventus
Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...
Monaco
Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
where he made three substitute appearances, he signed for
rivals
A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, 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 ...
Nice
Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million2022 Coupe de France final, before joining Juventus in 2024. Formerly a youth international, he made his senior international debut for France in 2023.
Club career
Monaco
Thuram made his professional debut with
Monaco
Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
in a 2–0
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
loss away to
Atlético Madrid
Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...
on 28 November 2018, at the age of 17; he was a 63rd-minute substitute for Aleksandr Golovin.
Nice
On 26 June 2019, Thuram joined
Derby de la Côte d'Azur
The Derby de la Côte d'Azur is a football match contested between Ligue 1 clubs AS Monaco and OGC Nice. The name of the derby derives from the fact that Monaco and Nice are the two major clubs in France that are situated on or near the Côte d'A ...
rivals
Nice
Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionNîmes
Nîmes ( , ; ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Located between the Med ...
, replacing
Ignatius Ganago
Ignatius Ganago (born 16 February 1999) is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Major League Soccer club New England Revolution, on loan from Ligue 1 club Nantes and the Cameroon national team.
Club career
Early ca ...
for the last seven minutes. On 3 October 2020, he scored his first professional goal to win a home match by the same score against
Nantes
Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...
.
In September 2021, Thuram extended his contract that was due to expire in July 2022, by an undisclosed length. On 7 May, he played in the 2022 Coupe de France final, which his team lost by a single goal to
Nantes
Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...
. He scored four goals and assisted three in the 2021–22 Ligue 1 as Nice came fifth and qualified for the
UEFA Europa Conference League
The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual association football, football competition organised since 2021 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European foot ...
; he was then linked with following manager
Christophe Galtier
Christophe Galtier (; born 23 August 1966) is a French professional football manager and former player who recently was the head coach of Qatar Stars League club Al-Duhail. A defender, Galtier spent many of his 15 years as a player at Marseille ...
to
Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...
.
Thuram was selected for the Team of the Season in 2022–23, the only player from outside the top three clubs to make the list. One of his two goals that season came in a 3–0 derby win at his former club Monaco.
Juventus
On 10 July 2024, Thuram signed for
Serie A
The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
club
Juventus
Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...
on a five-year deal worth €20 million. In December 2024, he became the third Thuram family member to score in Serie A, by netting a brace in a 2–2 draw against
Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...
.
International career
Thuram has represented France at various youth international levels.
In March 2023, he received his first call-up to the France senior national team for the
UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
The UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying tournament was a football competition that was played from March 2023 to March 2024 to determine the 23 UEFA member men's national teams that would join the automatically qualified host team Germany in the UEFA Eur ...
matches against the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
and the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...
. He made his international debut, coming off the bench in the 89th minute to substitute
Adrien Rabiot
Adrien Thibault Marie Rabiot (; born 3 April 1995) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Ligue 1 club Olympique de Marseille, Marseille and the France national football team, France nation ...
, in a 4–0 victory over the Netherlands. Later that year, in November, he was recalled to the national team, following an injury to
Eduardo Camavinga
Eduardo Celmi Camavinga (born 10 November 2002) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or left back for La Liga club Real Madrid. Born in Angola, he plays for the France national team.
Camavinga began his career in Ligue 1 with ...
during the same Euro 2024 qualifying.
Manager
Thierry Henry
Thierry Daniel Henry (; born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, sports broadcaster and former player. He is considered one of the greatest players of all time and widely regarded as the greatest player in Premi ...
2024 Summer Olympics
The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...
on home soil. He was, however, not permitted to take part by his new club Juventus.
Personal life
Thuram is the son of the former France international footballer
Lilian Thuram
Ruddy Lilian Thuram-Ulien (; born 1 January 1972) is a French author, Philanthropy, philanthropist and former professional association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football), defender. Widely regarded as one of the g ...
, and the younger brother of
Inter
Inter may refer to:
Association football clubs
* Inter Milan, an Italian club
* SC Internacional, a Brazilian club
* Inter Miami CF, an American club
* Inter Playa del Carmen, a Mexican club
* FC Inter Sibiu, a Romanian club
* FC Inter Turku, ...
and
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
forward
Marcus Thuram
Marcus Lilian Thuram-Ulien (; born 6 August 1997) is a French professional association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker for Serie A club Inter Milan and the France national football team, France ...
. He was named after the Egyptian pharaoh Khephren, hence nicknamed ''Le Pharaon''.
Born in
Reggio Emilia
Reggio nell'Emilia (; ), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until Unification of Italy, 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 172,51 ...
while his father Lilian played for
Parma
Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...
, Thuram is of
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...
an descent through his father.
Career statistics
Club
International
Honours
Nice
*
Coupe de France
The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...
Team of the Year Team of the Year may refer to:
* BBC Sports Personality of the Year Team Award
* Canadian Press Team of the Year Award
*GPA Gaelic Team of the Year
* IRB International Sevens Team of the Year
* IRB International Team of the Year
* J.League Team of ...
Serie A
The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...