Ryan Sessegnon

Ryan Sessegnon is often compared with Gareth Bale. He is known as a grounded man and has never publicly agreed to the comparisons.

He dreams of playing for his country, alongside his twin brother, Steven, and says that they have talked about being on the same team ever since they were young.

Ryan Sessegnon was born on May 18, 2000, in Roehampton, London, into a family full of football enthusiasts. His cousin, Stephane Sessegnon, and his twin brother and ‘Fulham’ teammate, Steven, are both noted football players. Both Ryan and Steven practiced football since childhood and exhibited immense talent. As a child, Ryan was part of many teams, and it soon became obvious that he was here to make a mark in the national football scene.

In 2008, 8-year-old Ryan joined the ‘Fulham’ under-nine team and maintained his momentum for the next few years, playing for different junior teams. In August 2016, he made his ‘EFL Cup’ debut against ‘Leyton Orient,’ at the age of 16. He made his championship game debut on August 16. He eventually scored his first career goal against ‘Cardiff City’ on August 20. With this, he became the first-ever footballer born in the 2000s to score a championship match goal.

This was Ryan’s the first stint with professional football. In January 2017, he made his ‘FA Cup’ debut and scored a goal against ‘Cardiff.’ He became one of the youngest goal-scorers in the history of this championship too.

In a game against ‘Newcastle United,’ in March, he scored two goals and earned the respect of opponent player Alan Shearer, who described Ryan’s performance as “excellent.” Alan’s team eventually won the championship, but Ryan emerged as the hero of the tournament. He further became the youngest player ever to earn a place in the ‘PFA Championship Team of the Year.’

Following the 30 championship games he played, he became a national hero, as the media went crazy about him. Italian Newspaper ‘La Gazzetta dello Sport’ heaped immense praises on him and gave him a place in their “Top 30 under-20s” list. Ace magazine ‘Sports Illustrated’ further honored him with the 19th spot on their list of the best players under 20.

In 2016, he represented his national team in the ‘Euro Under-17’ and scored his maiden goal for the ‘Under-19’ national team, playing against Luxembourg in a ‘European Under-19 Championship’ qualifier. His team won the match 2–0. He was included in the squad for the ‘Euro Under-19’ finals and proved the management’s decision right when he scored three goals against Germany. He ended the tournament as a joint top-scorer.