Let’s get to know Marcus Thuram better: 10 interesting facts

Marcus Lilian Thuram-Ulien, Inter’s new forward, was born in Parma on 6 August 1997. The son of Lilian Thuram, who played for the Emilian team at the time, he is French of Guadalupian origin. He grew up in Italy, where he lived until 2006, before moving to Barcelona with his family and then settling in France.

His playing career saw him blossom in the youth ranks of Sochaux, the team he made his professional debut for. From 2017 to 2019, he played for Guingamp before moving on to Borussia Mönchengladbach. He spent four seasons in the Bundesliga, where he made 134 appearances and scored 44 goals. In the meantime, he made his debut for the French national team and has gone on to win ten caps, five of which came at the 2022 World Cup. In Qatar, he played from the 41st minute of the first half in the World Cup final.

His nickname: TIKUS

Marcus Thuram, known to everyone as "Tikus". The origin of the French striker's nickname can be traced back to his youth days when it was given to him to distinguish him from other teammates who had the same name. In Guadeloupe Creole, “ti” means “little”, while “kus” is a syllable of his name Marcus. In other words, “little Marcus”, although he is now 192 cm tall.

His blanket... in Ronaldo’s hands

Throughout his childhood, Marcus couldn’t be separated from a blanket, just like the Peanuts character Linus. Back then, his dad, Lilian, was taking on the biggest champions in football, and the player he had the most respect for was Ronaldo, O Fenômeno. This reverential fear was transmitted to Marcus and exploited by his mum: “We need to give your blanket to Ronaldo.” It was the only way to convince Marcus to part ways with it.

International appearances

In his ten appearances for France, Thuram is yet to score. Five of these caps came at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, during which he provided two assists for Kylian Mbappé. The second came in the final against Argentina as Les Bleus temporarily made it 2-2.

His two celebrations

Marcus Thuram likes to celebrate in one of two ways when he finds the net. His first celebration involves using one arm to point at the biceps muscle in the other with two fingers; the other arm, meanwhile, is brought to his head with two fingers touching the temple. This is his way of pointing out that his head gives strength to his actions. His second celebration sees him cross his arms over his chest with clenched fists. This is a tribute to Black Panther, his favourite superhero.

His first time at San Siro… with a misunderstanding

In October 2020, Borussia Mönchengladbach arrived in Milano to take on Inter in the Champions League group stage. It was Thuram’s first time at San Siro. In the height of the pandemic, the players made their way through the entrance wearing masks. However, Marcus was stopped by a steward, who didn’t recognise him. Marcus didn’t have his documents with him so opened Google with his smartphone, typed in “Marcus Thuram” and showed the search results to the steward, who then let him enter. The incident was documented on Borussia’s Twitter account. During his career, Thuram has faced Inter twice, with these two appearances coming in the two Champions League games between Inter and Borussia.

His first memory of Inter

When asked “If I say Inter, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?”, Marcus didn’t hesitate, saying: “Adriano”. His admiration arose seeing the Brazilian striker’s exploits between 2004 and 2006. Thuram was still living in Italy and thoroughly enjoyed the Emperor’s brilliant displays in a Nerazzurri shirt.

His idols

Marcus’ idols are four invaluable people to him: his dad, Lilian, his mum, Karine, his brother, Képhren, and his grandma.

His best goal

An unstoppable burst forward with the ball at his feet. Starting from midfield, he charged towards goal, sat the goalkeeper down and deposited the ball into the net with his left foot. This, according to Marcus himself, was the best goal he’s scored in his career. He bagged it on 11 November 2022 in Borussia Mönchengladbach vs. Borussia Dortmund.

His passion for other sports

Marcus is passionate about basketball. He doesn’t support any particular team, but he’s a big fan of LeBron James.

Dragon Ball and his favourite character

Dragon Ball is among his passions away from football, and Vegeta is his favourite character.