A 17-year-old former Catholic schoolboy has been congratulated by his school after he recently made his Champions League football debut for current European and Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.
Bright Arrey-Mbi was named in the starting 11 for the side’s 1-1 draw with Atlético Madridearlier this month. The young defender played 60 minutes in the group stage game at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid on 1st December before being substituted for forward Serge Gnabry.
St Thomas More Catholic School in Brickhill, Bedford, offered their congratulations to their former pupil, tweeting: ‘Congrats Bright!’ in response to Bayern’s official starting 11 announcement.
Born in Kaarst, Germany, in 2003, Arrey-Mbi moved to England at a young age, where he played for Norwich’s youth team before moving to Chelsea. He represented the England U15s before switching back to represent Germany internationally.
The youngster moved back to Germany last year, when he was signed by Bayern Munich.
He has already made a good impression on some of his teammates, including Joshua Kimmich and David Alaba.
Describing Arrey-Mbi as “a beast”, Kimmich said: “You can tell that he uses every muscle on his body. It surprised me in training that he’s not shy at all. He really goes into challenges and has a certain calmness on the ball.”
Meanwhile, Alaba said the youngster has a lot of potential and was fitting in well in training.
“His athleticism and his understanding of the game are already very far ahead,” he said. “We had two tactical training units and he didn’t play a single high ball as a central defender. I noticed that and I see a lot of potential in him.”
Bayern Munich will play their final Champions League group stage game against Russia’s Lokomotiv Moscow tonight, Wednesday 9th December, kick-off at 8pm. However, the current champions have already qualified for the knockout stages, as they top Group A, on 13 points, while Atlético Madrid are in second place on six points. Austria’s Salzburg are in third place on four points, while Lok. Moscow are bottom, on three.
