Ilaix Moriba

Moriba Kourouma Kourouma (born 19 January 2003), known as Ilaix Moriba, is a Spanish footballer who plays for FC Barcelona Juvenil A as a central midfielder. Born in Guinea, Moriba represents Spain internationally.

Ilaix Moriba
Personal information
Full name Moriba Kourouma Kourouma
Date of birth (2003-01-19) 19 January 2003
Place of birth Conakry, Guinea
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Barcelona Juvenil A
Youth career
2010– Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019– Barcelona B 8 (1)
National team‡
2019– Spain U17 7 (2)
2019– Spain U18 2 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:25, 29 April 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19:25, 29 April 2020 (UTC)

Biography

Moriba was born in Conakry, Guinea, from a Guinean mother and a Liberian father.[1] He holds both Spanish and Guinean citizenship.[2]

Club career

Moriba arrived at FC Barcelona in 2010. He has been considered as one of the best players of his generation, and he has very often played in categories of players far older than him.[3][4] Moriba really stood out at age 15 when he scored a hat-trick against the Real Madrid U19's. Most remarkable was perhaps his last goal where he literally scored just at the start of the second half, from the middle of the pitch[5].

In January 2019, as his junior contract was about to come to an end, clubs such as Manchester City or Juventus tried to sign the player,[6] but he eventually came to sign a record deal for such a young player in La Masia academy, with a salary of more than €500,000 a year and a buyout clause set at €100 million.[3]

During the following season he became a regular for Barcelona B, scoring his first goal in a 3-2 victory against Llagostera CF.[7]

International career

Ilaix is a youth international with Spain, but both the Guinean and Liberian football federations have reportedly tried to get him to switch nationality.[2] It appeared the young eventually chose to play for the Guinea national team, being set to make his debut on the international stage in June 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic froze the 2020 football season.[8]

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References
  1. Quaye, Peterking (May 27, 2018). "Manchester City Liberian young player Moriba Kourouma". Liberia Sports Online.
  2. Mognouma, ParLamine (9 July 2017). "Nouveau Talent : À quatorze ans, Moriba Kourouma s'impose au centre de formation du Barça". Guinée Foot (in French).
  3. Richard, Fitzpatrick (2019-10-25). "Ilaix Moriba: The 'Pogba of Barca' Destined for Greatness". Bleacher report.
  4. "Barça: Manchester city ,Chelsea et Juventus font le forcing pour Moriba kourouma". Guinée Actu Sport (in French). 2018-11-30.
  5. "Barcelona youth teamer Ilaix scores a hat-trick against Real Madrid". Marca. 2018-08-21.
  6. Martinez, Ferran (2018-12-19). "Cuenta atrás por Ilaix Moriba" [Countdown for Ilaix Moriba]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish).
  7. Piot, Morgan (11 March 2020). "Ilaix Moriba : Âge, FIFA 20, contrat en or, Instagram... Tout savoir sur la sensation de la Masia". 90 Min (in French).
  8. Lantheaume, Romain (2020-03-20). "Barca : le prometteur Ilaix Moriba dit oui à la Guinee !". Afrik foot (in French).
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