From relegation in Ligue 2 to a UEFA Super Cup goal: who is Brian Madjo
Just eight days ago, 17-year-old striker Brian Madjo was not even eligible to play for Aston Villa in official matches. Now, he's scored against the European champions and become the youngest ever goalscorer in UEFA Super Cup history.
On the evening of August 12, 2026, the wider football world learned the name Brian Madjo. In the UEFA Super Cup clash against Paris Saint-Germain, Aston Villa’s 17-year-old centre-forward made the starting XI and equalised in the 45th minute — 1:1.
PSG had taken the lead through Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in the 20th minute, but the end of the first half turned into Madjo’s personal showcase. The young striker missed several good chances, hit the post in the 44th minute, and then, in the very next attack, finally found the net. After John McGinn’s cross from the right, Madjo outmuscled Willian Pacho and, from a tough angle, rifled the ball into the net. PSG would score again and lift the trophy, but Madjo’s moment was already immortalised.
At just 17, he became the youngest player ever to score in a UEFA Super Cup match. But the story of the past few months in his career makes this achievement even more remarkable.
From London via Luxembourg to France
The striker’s full name is Brian Jomeni Madjo. He was born on January 12, 2009, in Enfield, North London, to a family of Cameroonian descent. However, he spent most of his childhood in Luxembourg, where his family moved.
Football runs in the Madjo family. His father, Guy Madjo, was also a professional striker and spent much of his career in English football. Brian has a twin brother, Bradley, who also plays football and ended up in the Metz youth system.
Brian took his first serious steps in football in Luxembourg. He trained at Marisca Mersch, then moved to Racing Union Luxembourg, and in 2023 was spotted by Metz — a club with one of the most renowned academies in France.
The move proved decisive.
Madjo quickly began playing against older opponents. In the 2024/25 season, at just 15, he became a leader for Metz’s U19 squad. The French club noted that the forward scored 12 goals for their youth team. In the summer of 2025, he was offered his first professional contract.
The youngest ever debutant for Metz
Madjo barely had to wait for his chance in senior football.
On August 17, 2025, in the Ligue 1 opener against Strasbourg, Metz head coach Stéphane Le Mignan made the surprise call to start the 16-year-old up front. Madjo played 58 minutes, with Metz losing 0–1.
He was just 16 years and 217 days old — the youngest player ever to debut for Metz in the French top flight.
This wasn’t just a token experiment with a talented youngster. Metz believed Madjo was already physically ready for senior football. Le Mignan said that, at U19 level, the striker simply outclassed most opponents.
Before leaving the club, Brian managed five Ligue 1 appearances. He didn’t score, but for a player born in 2009, regular top-flight minutes in France were a huge achievement.
And here’s where the story takes a dramatic turn. Madjo started the season at Metz, a club fighting relegation, and by spring 2026 they were officially relegated to Ligue 2. By then, though, Brian was already in England.
Just months after playing for a future Ligue 1 struggler, he would step out against the Champions League winners — and score in the UEFA Super Cup.
Aston Villa paid about €12 million for the 17-year-old striker
Interest in Madjo had been brewing long before his transfer. His physical attributes, age, and youth-level achievements attracted clubs from across Europe.
Aston Villa won the race.
On January 12, 2026, on his 17th birthday, Madjo officially left Metz and headed to England. Metz confirmed the transfer, with media valuing the deal at around €12 million or £10 million.
For a player with just five senior club appearances, that’s a telling sum. Villa were paying not for the finished article, but for potential.
But soon, a problem arose — and one Birmingham clearly hadn’t anticipated.
Seven months of waiting due to FIFA
Madjo was born in England, holds British citizenship, and had already represented England at youth level. But his previous club was in France, and he had spent most of his life in Luxembourg.
This sparked a legal dispute.
FIFA regulations heavily restrict international transfers of players under 18. FIFA deemed Madjo’s move an international transfer of a minor and refused to allow Aston Villa to register him.
As a result, Villa had signed one of Europe’s most promising young strikers but were unable to use him in official matches.
Aston Villa insisted the situation was exceptional: Madjo was born in England, is a UK citizen, and was effectively returning to his country of birth.
The dispute escalated to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Only on August 4, 2026, just eight days before the UEFA Super Cup, did CAS rule in Villa’s favour. The club was finally able to register Madjo for official competition.
It’s an almost unbelievable chain of events: at the end of July, there was a real chance Madjo would have to wait until he turned 18 for his official debut — but by August 12, he was starting against PSG.
He didn't sit idle
The legal ban only covered official competitions, so Villa could use Madjo in friendlies.
And the striker made the most of that opportunity.
During preseason, he scored four goals. In the first summer friendly against Walsall, Madjo bagged a brace, then found the net against Real Sociedad and Indonesia All Stars.
So Unai Emery’s decision to start the 17-year-old against PSG wasn’t just a fairy tale.
Madjo earned his chance with his preseason form.
And in his very first official club match, he showed that his physicality wasn’t just effective against lower-league or friendly opposition. In Salzburg, he battled the reigning Champions League winners’ defenders — and won.
Why is Madjo compared to Lukaku?
The first thing that stands out about Brian is his physique.
The striker stands around 193 centimetres tall. For a 17-year-old, he’s exceptionally well built and already capable of holding his own against senior centre-backs. That’s why, even in France and Luxembourg, he was being compared to Romelu Lukaku.
But coaches who have worked with Madjo stress that it would be a mistake to see him as just a powerhouse centre-forward.
Luxembourg FA technical director Manuel Cardoni has highlighted his play in tight spaces, positional awareness, ability to run in behind, and two-footed skill. As a youngster, coaches even deliberately played Madjo in midfield to force him to develop technique and football IQ, rather than just relying on his strength.
The result is a thoroughly modern centre-forward profile.
Madjo can play with his back to goal, battle with centre-backs, and attack the box, but he also has the pace to run in behind defences.
His goal against PSG was a perfect illustration: first the physical duel with Pacho, then the coordination and a technically demanding finish from a sharp angle.
Luxembourg or England?
Madjo’s unique situation extends to the international stage.
He has ties to three countries: England, where he was born; Cameroon, his family’s homeland; and Luxembourg, where he grew up.
And he’s already featured for Luxembourg at senior level.
In spring 2025, just after turning 16, Madjo played three senior friendlies for Luxembourg. Then, in August that year, he got a call-up to England U17.
His England debut was perfect: in a September match against Venezuela, Madjo scored to help the Young Lions win 2–1.
So the striker’s international future remains another intriguing subplot. He’s already been inside the Luxembourg senior setup, but his move to the England system is a sign of just how highly rated he is there.
Eight days that changed everything
On August 4, the main news around Brian Madjo was the CAS ruling. By August 12, all of Europe was talking about him.
Unai Emery entrusted the 17-year-old with a starting spot in a European final against PSG, and Madjo became one of the first half’s standout figures.
He relentlessly challenged defenders, got into scoring positions, struck the post, and finally scored.
And he did it in his very first official match for the club that had signed him seven months earlier — and almost didn’t know until the eve of the season if they could even register him.
Madjo’s journey over the past year has been nothing short of extraordinary. In August 2025, he was a 16-year-old debutant for a side soon to be relegated from Ligue 1. In January, he was a €12 million signing. Then came months of legal limbo. In July, preseason goals. On August 4, Aston Villa’s CAS victory. And just eight days later — a goal against the reigning Champions League winners in the UEFA Super Cup, making him the youngest scorer in the competition’s history.
Brian Madjo is only 17, but after that night in Salzburg, it’s going to be a lot harder to call him just "a talent for the future."
Steven Perez
Dailysports's expert
