The rise of Brian Madjo: A 'natural sportsman', CAS appeal and breakout game against PSG New York Times (Online) Jacob Tanswell “Look behind you,” says Paul Philipp, who won 54 caps for Luxembourg, served as the national team's manager for 16 years and has been the president of their football federation since 2004. He is in his office at headquarters. Alongside him is Manuel Cardoni, Luxembourg's technical director, with 69 caps for his country. Cardoni points to an enlarged photo behind The Athletic. It is of the senior side beating the Republic of Ireland away from home in 2021. “You see the No 16? Leandro Barreiro Martins. He plays for Benfica now. He could have been playing for Angola, but he can say in 10 years, 'I chose the country where I grew up'. He will be our future captain.” Philipp and Cardoni talk for more than an hour before a training session, where boys aged 12 to 15 are shuttled from their homes across the country to here, in Mondercange, south Luxembourg. “They go to school in the morning,” says Cardoni. “We pick them up. From ages 12 to 14, they train three times a week. From 14, they train four times and are only with their clubs on a Friday before playing for them on the weekend. “Brian Madjo was 11 when we first saw him. We have four detection centres in Luxembourg, with two coaches at each, where the best under-12 players train. We give them two training sessions a week.” Madjo, Aston Villa's teenage forward, was a product of Luxembourg's structure, training in Mondercange for five years before making his debut for the senior side at 16. He earned three caps, all in friendly matches. “Brian had to work hard, because it was not easy as a child,” says Philipp. “His mother (Blandine) was alone with four kids. Bradley, Dionne and their older sister studying in Belgium. Dionne plays basketball for Luxembourg's national team… that's right, Luxembourg. There's a big difference.” It is a pointed comment. Madjo lived in Boevange-sur-Attert, a small town in central Luxembourg with a population of barely a thousand. In 2018, it merged with Tuntange to form the new commune of Helperknapp. A 10-minute drive east was Marisca Mersch, Madjo's first club. Marisca compete in the second tier of Luxembourg's footballing pyramid. An affluent area, Mersch is a residential hub for those wanting a more peaceful life, though one easily commutable to the capital, Luxembourg City, which is 25 kilometres south. Madjo would take the bus to training after school, roughly eight kilometres away. An estate agent is selling houses for no cheaper than €600,000 (￡500,000; $675,000), with some crossing the seven-figure mark. Mersch is nestled in the curve of valleys, quiet and cultural. Marisca's stadium sits adjacent to the national literature centre, with a small park and school opposite a theatre. The capacity reaches a thousand, but it is mostly standing. The pitch runs alongside the Mamer, one of three rivers in the town. It is a 10-minute walk to the artificial pitch where Marisca's academy and Madjo played. If they are not under the umbrella of the Luxembourg Football Federation (FLF), players here train two to three times a week. Staff at Marisca remain in contact with Madjo's family, mainly his twin brother Bradley, who used to stand behind the goals, joining the hardcore supporters for senior games. “Of course I remember Brian,” Cedric Schroeder, Madjo's old school teacher, says. “He always had a smile on his face.” Schroeder taught at Brouch School, a primary in the village that shares its name. In Brouch, a small region within Helperknapp, Madjo went to the school from the age of 10, moving away from another in Mersch. The school no longer exists — it later amalgamated with three others — and the building is now used for pupils with learning difficulties. But when Madjo was here, it had four classrooms and 60 children. There are plenty of surrounding fields, with cows and sheep. Schroeder was Madjo's teacher for his final two years, taking 12 to 15 pupils in a small year group. “It's just very quiet and peaceful,” says Schroeder, talking on the playground where Madjo played basketball and, against the stony walls, led a one-touch football game. Schroeder shows a photo of Madjo and his classmates in 2020. “ It was during the pandemic,” he says. “You can see he's not a lot taller than the others.” Madjo subsequently moved to secondary school and to Luxembourg City, joining Racing Union from Marisca. “As you're growing bigger than others, you are like a truck and your energy is more noticeable,” Cardoni says. “ I had to go to his school a couple of times and he could be cheeky, but it was always with a smile.” Behind School Brouch's playground is a park and grassy bank, slightly entrenched, where the football pitch used to be. “I remember I was with another teacher and we were playing basketball,” says Schroeder. “It was obvious Brian had a lot of talent to play basketball. I said, 'Give him three weeks to train and he would make the starting five for the village'. He was a natural sportsman. He played baseball and was a good endurance runner.” Back at the FLF's base in Mondercange, Cardoni is reflecting on Madjo's remarkable ascent. In August, the 17-year-old bullied one of Europe's best centre-back pairings, Marquinhos and Willian Pacho, scoring on his competitive debut for Villa in the UEFA Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain . Before that, the 6ft 4in (193cm) striker became French club Metz's youngest player, aged 16 years and 217 days. “When you see players at 12, they are small, quick on the ball. He was never that,” Cardoni says. “From under-12s, we took him up to the under-13s because he was tough and big. But he was not good. He was always going to be a striker, but we put him in midfield to test him technically. He had to struggle, but he had one thing — he always wanted to work hard. He had a strong passion for learning from mistakes. He grew a lot and when that happens, you can lose coordination. “In training sessions, I made him 'the jolly' (the free player). I gave him one touch because he had to develop his ability to ask for the ball in the right position, without relying on physicality.” Madjo was born in the north London borough of Enfield in 2009 and moved to Luxembourg at the age of two with his mother and siblings. Born to Cameroonian parents, he is the son of former striker Guy Madjo, who spent much of his playing career in England's lower leagues. In January 2016, Guy Madjo was found guilty at Winchester Crown Court of sexually assaulting a woman in his home . An arrest warrant had been issued by the court in May 2015, but the trial went ahead when he failed to return to the United Kingdom. During a previous hearing, the court was told Guy Madjo was in west Africa, reportedly playing for teams in Gabon. Guy Madjo had not returned to the UK and was sentenced in his absence to three and a half years. “Brian has a sister now playing basketball in the United States (Dionne is with the San Diego State Aztecs),” Cardoni says. “Bradley plays for Metz's under-19s. I saw him playing last week. He's quick, a winger and has a smoother running action than Brian. He's impressive.” “I had a very good relationship with his mother,” says Vivian Reydel, Madjo's under-15s head coach and sporting director at Racing Union. “She was a grounded, honest person who kept things in perspective. Her priority was not simply to find the best club possible. She wanted a structure that could support his development, as a footballer and young man.” Racing Union is in Luxembourg's capital, close to where Madjo's mother worked. Founded in 2005 when four teams fused, they recently featured in the qualifying stages of the Conference League. Mostly, however, Racing is renowned for its youth system. Madjo would come here every Friday to train after spending the week with the FLF. “Brian moved here because of our reputation,” says Delvin Skenderovic, Racing's academy director and assistant coach to the senior side. “Brian was 14. He had a big advantage physically but struggled technically. That's why we sometimes played him in midfield. He needed more pressure, to make his next decision quicker.” It was easy for Madjo to shield possession from defenders, using his muscle to work shooting opportunities. This was doing little for his development. So training focused on having balls fired into his feet, where his first touch had to be taken in a different direction. “We spotted him at under-12s,” Reydel says. “His potential stood out. When a young player dominates too easily through physical qualities, it can sometimes hide mistakes. “He could be untidy, especially in tight spaces. But what struck me was his seriousness. He was focused, attentive to instructions and committed. There was more to him, in his attitude and how he approached his work. “Brian was a very good kid. He would listen, with those eyes straight at you. He was sociable, open and comfortable with people, so our diversity suited him. Racing is a cosmopolitan club, which reflects Luxembourg City and the country. More than 50 nationalities were represented within the club.” Daniel Zirbes agrees. The head coach of Luxembourg's women's team coached Madjo when the striker was playing for Luxembourg's under-16s . “Brian was a role model. He bonded with everyone. Some players talked about where they grew up. Brian would say where he was from and then a white guy with a Scandinavian background would say, 'Ah, I'm from this village too!'. He was a role model for this community.” Madjo never shied away from a challenge. He straddled a fine line between confidence and popularity. “I remember a funny story,” says Cardoni. “We have a database where the players have a profile picture. He wanted a new photo because he didn't like his. I told him, 'No one else sees the picture, just you!'. But we changed it. He was a young puppy and funny.” “There was another player,” Zirbes says. “They were best friends and had a similar style, wearing a cap which was really small. They did a photoshoot. We had a good laugh about their Instagram post. They listened to a lot of French hip hop music.” Madjo speaks four languages: English, German, Luxembourgish and, growing up, mostly French, due to his mother. He has long looked and acted like a young man beyond his years. When he trained at Racing, he would take the train or bus by himself. In Luxembourg's youth teams, coaches rarely had to speak to his mother, knowing they could rely on Madjo to know where to be and when. “His mother had no time to drive her boys to training because she worked two jobs,” says Skenderovic. “But she always came to games on the weekends.” Juan de Dios Crespo-Perez is a sports lawyer who specialises in sports and international law. When FIFA rejected Madjo's registration to play before he turned 18 , Villa took the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Assisted by Alexandre Zen-Ruffinen and Manchester law firm Centrefield, Crespo-Perez was enlisted by Villa's senior figures — director of football Damian Vidagany and sporting director Roberto Olabe — to help with the appeal. “Damian and Roberto told me Brian is the strongest guy they've seen,” says Crespo-Perez. “I lost my dad when I was 16, so I understand you grow up much before the others. He had to be the man of the house, as I was. You're an adult before being a teenager.” Even at primary school, Madjo displayed emotional intelligence. Schroeder remembers a time when his class were playing a catching game. Madjo reached every ball. “They got different points for catching differently, like with one hand,” he says. “He was jumping all over the place. But then he looked around and saw others were frustrated. So he then just lay back, so they could catch it. He had maturity even at that age, a smart kid.” Metz is roughly 30 miles from the FLF's headquarters in Mondercange. Close to Luxembourg's border, Metz falls within FIFA's designated catchment area, so it did not classify as an international transfer. Madjo joined the Ligue 2 club in 2023 from Racing Union. “When Brian was 12, Metz did not believe in him,” says Cardoni. “But as they saw his progress, that changed. When he was 15, many European clubs wanted him, but they could not get Brian because they were over 30 kilometres away from Luxembourg. Skenderovic had a meeting with Madjo's family, following an approach from German club Mainz. They had invited Madjo to their training ground. “We prefer to deviate our players to Germany,” he says. “We hoped he would accept Mainz. If we transfer a player more than 100 kilometres away, we can negotiate a fee. If it is not far and within regulations, you only get a training compensation fee. But when he went to Villa, we received a solidarity payment.” The Athletic circles back to the subject Philipp referred to at the start — the one that still rankles. Madjo had just turned 16, meaning another two years before he could apply for citizenship. They could accelerate the process through a parent. As this tends to require passing a language test, the FLF offered courses to his mother. To assist with Madjo's citizenship application, Cardoni and Philipp explored further routes. Taking inspiration from his sister Dionne, who did the same to represent the country's basketball team, Madjo sent a video message to Luxembourg's minister of sport, saying he wished to play for Luxembourg. Cardoni visited Madjo's mother at her workplace to sign the papers, officially authorising his citizenship. Having been granted his Luxembourg passport in March 2025, Madjo made his debut for the senior team a fortnight later, featuring in a 1-0 friendly victory over Sweden. Three days after, Madjo started another friendly away to Switzerland, a 3-1 defeat. In an interview with L'essentiel at the end of March 2025, Madjo said it would have been a “betrayal” to play for any other country. Madjo's third friendly came against Slovenia, a 1-0 defeat, four days before their next competitive fixture against the Republic of Ireland. Yet Madjo was absent. Officially, he was ruled out through injury. Had he featured, Madjo would not have been able to change allegiances. A couple of months later, incoming Luxembourg manager Jeff Strasser called him up to the senior side. “When I phoned Brian about playing for our senior side again, he was distant,” Cardoni says. “I got the call from his two agents a day later, saying he would be involved in England Under-17s games.” “We still feel really bad,” says Philipp. “Angry? No. But a big disappointment. Without Luxembourg, there would be no Aston Villa. No goal in the Super Cup. Our return on investment is not financial — it's to play for our national team. From the age of 11, with qualified coaches, we took him from school to play on shuttle buses. We don't get money. We don't want money.” Attempting to provide reconciliation or closure, Cardoni and Philipp held separate meetings with Madjo, his mother, and two agents later in 2025. Philipp described his encounter as “very difficult” owing to the “heavy atmosphere from both sides”. Could Brian's twin brother, Bradley, play for Luxembourg? “No, probably not,” says Cardoni. “He will not because we cannot now. We are very small, but we also have our pride and dignity.” In January this year, Villa signed Madjo from Metz for ￡10million ($13m). “Metz put a release clause in his professional deal that Villa then triggered,” Cardoni says. It took another seven months for Villa to register him, after successfully winning the CAS appeal that allowed him to play before he turned 18. FIFA initially rejected his Villa registration on the grounds that the teenager was joining from an overseas club and was under 18. “The problem here was coming back to England,” Crespo-Perez says. “Not the leaving. We had to say why he left. We explained a lot, but the mother was crucial. We thought she was prepared to deliver before CAS. Her answers to the questioning were spectacular.” Madjo announced himself to world football in the Super Cup, scoring in Villa's 2-1 defeat to PSG. He was no longer a well-kept secret. “A teacher messaged saying, 'Did you see the game?',” Schroeder says, smiling. “'I told the pupils he was in my class. They were so excited.'” “I had two feelings,” Zirbes says. “I felt proud. We are a small country and we worked so well with him. He can play for a big Champions League club. Barcelona, PSG? I know how much he wants this. The second feeling I had is a lot of the European football world laugh at us — but you don't need a big country to play for a big team.” Cardoni shakes his head. “I watched the game. I was not surprised. I knew he could be that good. But I was very indifferent because I had to change the page and go on.” Cardoni and Philipp invite The Athletic onto the training pitches as some of the next generation arrive at the headquarters. They put their coats on, tie their laces and set about trying to find the next Brian Madjo.