{"id":901358,"date":"2026-04-25T00:24:03","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T05:24:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/25\/mbeumo-i-grew-up-watching-zidane-and-etoo\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T00:24:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T05:24:03","slug":"mbeumo-i-grew-up-watching-zidane-and-etoo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/25\/mbeumo-i-grew-up-watching-zidane-and-etoo\/","title":{"rendered":"Mbeumo: I grew up watching Zidane and Eto\u2019o!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Thursday<\/span> 02 April 2026<\/span> 17:10<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In a brand-new episode of our Influencers series, Bryan Mbeumo tells us that his first footballing inspirations were the legendary Zinedine Zidane and Samuel Eto\u2019o.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Mbeumo<\/a> was born in France in 1999 and grew up at a time when Zidane was a poster boy of French football, and the playmaking idol to a generation of budding young footballers.<\/p>\n

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Eto\u2019o, meanwhile, shone in the same era as a prolific forward and is one of the greatest players to hail from Cameroon, the country Bryan now represents internationally and the birthplace of his father.<\/p>\n

\nThose ties meant our no.19 saw plenty of the pair in action while they were at the top of the game in the 2000s.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span>Bryan Mbeumo’s Influencers Video<\/span><\/p>\n

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Bryan Mbeumo’s Influencers<\/h2>\n

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INFLUENCERS | Bryan Mbeumo tells us about the sports stars and family members that have inspired him…<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cFor us [growing up in France], obviously Zidane [was a player I liked],\u201d Mbeumo tells former United forward Danny Webber, while appearing on our Influencers series.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cZidane and Eto\u2019o [were the players I admired] when I grew up watching my first-ever football games, [at the] World Cup, AFCON, Euros.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cHe [Eto\u2019o] was a very, very good player, good dribbler, good finisher. He had it all for the position. Dribbling, shooting, even passing. He was really complete.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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United forward Mbeumo, who has scored 10 goals since joining us from Brentford in the summer, goes on to talk about the Reds who have helped him settle at Old Trafford and his admiration for tennis legend Rafael Nadal, but not before we find out who he admired as a young professional.<\/p>\n

\nComing through the ranks at French side Troyes, Bryan looked up to Eden Hazard, who had made a name for himself in the country\u2019s top flight with Lille, before becoming one of the world\u2019s premier attacking talents – and a regular opponent of ours – after moving to Chelsea in 2012.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span>Hazard was a team-mate of Eto’o at Chelsea in the 2013\/14 season.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cObviously Hazard [was someone I looked up to],\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI was really watching his highlights, every single time I could. He\u2019s so good.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\u201cHe could run past people so easily, great finishing, great passing.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cObviously, the way he could turn himself or drive [past] people was insane.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watch Bryan Mbeumo\u2019s Influencers episode in full now!<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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MORE INFLUENCERS:<\/h2>\n