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3 min readJun 12, 2026 05:42 PM IST
Tunisia's Hannibal Mejbri warms up prior to the international friendly soccer match between Belgium and Tunisia in Brussels, Belgium, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
The Manchester United dream didn’t quite come through the first time around for Hannibal Mejbri, given the despairing state the club was in during his 2020-2024 stay at their academy. But the Paris-born Tunisian wunderkid gathered enough testimonials to create a buzz around his game. Now signed with Burnley in EFL, Hannibal, the 23-year-old, will travel to his second World Cup with an enhanced reputation.
Tunisia beat France 1-0 at the last World Cup – to no material consequence as they exited finishing third, with a match he didn’t play in. But Hannibal is all the rage this time. The half foot Afro from Man Utd U23 days is replaced by braids, but the words of Nicky Butt remain relevant.
“Hannibal (Mejbri)’s a leader. The way he plays his football is 100mph, he’s non-stop running up and down,” Butt described to Manchester Evening News. “Leaders are always looked at like a Roy Keane, a Steve Bruce, a Bryan Robson, those kind of verbal, real aggression, real leaders,” he would say, before dropping the comparison with David Beckham.
“And then you’ve got leaders like Paul Scholes or David Beckham or Ryan Giggs, who’s quiet but really leads by example of how they play and how they work hard.”
Hannibal had been a bright spark in a 4-0 loss to Liverpool circa 2022 when Roy Keane lamented lack of guts in United, and also debuted coming on as sub in the 2-1 win at Wolves on the final day of the Premier League season. But he never quite settled in at the club, opting to go to Burnley.
It was around the same time that Tunisia made a move, and persuaded him to switch allegiance from France, where he was born.
Manchester Evening News reported that his decision was greeted with national celebrations in Tunisia. The unveiling had a palace front like stage erected to showcase their catch after he played for France U16 and U17.
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All of Barcelona, PSG and Spurs had shown interest before he joined Manchester United in August 2019 from Monaco, and it was a big day for Tunisia ro snare him ahead of France.
At Hannibal’s Tunisia unveiling, dignitaries and journalists waited in the crowd at an auditorium as his entry was given a musical countdown. “After the tension built up, Mejbri finally stepped onto a stage, surrounded by strobe lighting and bursts of flames,” Evening News reported.
The stage had been set by his Manchester United teachers way before when his composure on the ball was compared to David Beckham.
Tunisia became the first country to qualify for the World Cup without conceding a single goal owing to the physicality of their defense. They will hope Hannibal scores up front.
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