Like father, like sons: The incredible story of the Thuram family

On Friday March 24, Képhren Thuram played his first match with the French national team in Les Bleus' 4-0 victory against the Netherlands. Even more remarkable was that the OGC Nice player got to do it alongside his brother, Marcus Thuram.

While Marcus has already represented the French side several times now, it was a special first-time call-up for his 22-year-old little brother, Képhren. The OGC Nice player, targeted by several big clubs including Manchester United, has seen a rapid rise in profile thanks to his recent club form. 

The two brothers are the sons of Lilian Thuram, former side of the France team and former record holder for the number of selections in blue with 142 games played with the national team. An absolute legend who notably scored twice in the semi-finals of the 1998 World Cup against Croatia. 

The father and his two sons have now all played with the French national team – an extremely rare occurrence for any sport! 

Talent and football IQ obviously runs in the Thuram family, so let's take a look back at the journey of the Thuram family in football. 

To understand the origins of the siblings, you have to go back to 1972 in Guadeloupe, the native land of Lilian Thuram. There, the future Blues defender was raised by his mother Mariana: “My life was simple”, he explained, “made up of football games in the street, races with friends on the sandy beaches, escapades of a schoolboy”.

In 1980, Lilian finally left his native island to land in France, in Bois-Colombe. There, the young Lilian, 9 years old, unfortunately, had first-hand encounters with racism. He wrote about his experiences in his autobiography 'White Thinking': “I wondered why the color white was associated with good and the color black with evil”.

The family finally moved again to escape this hostile climate and settled in Avon, near Fontainebleau. It is in this small town that Lilian goes to school, as well as take his first steps in club football. He alternated between the clubs of Fontainebleau and AS Melun before grabbing the attention of scouts. 

While a passionate footballer, the young Lilian had the opportunity to join Stade Rennais when he was only 16, but preferred to concentrate on his education and complete his schooling before making the move to a professional club. He ended up joining the AS Monaco training center at the age of 17. 

After six years at AS Monaco, Thuram signed with Italian club Parma. The 24-year-old full-back impressed in Italy and was voted the best defender in the championship in his second season. During his five years in Parma, the Guadeloupean had two children with his wife Sandra: Marcus and Képhren.

The two brothers were therefore born in Italy: Marcus in 1997 and Képhren in 2001, the latter also having dual nationality. They started playing football early and Marcus had the opportunity to start football in Barcelona in 2006, when his father was playing in Catalonia.

Despite his father's fame, Marcus wasn't exactly just given a golden ticket to the football world. In 2007, back in France, he joined Olympique de Neuilly-sur-Seine before joining AC Boulogne-Billancourt. He started out in the small time, but quickly showed off undeniable qualities with the ball at his feet.

Marcus then began to make a name for himself and joined the Pôle espoir de Clairefontaine in 2011. The following year, he was spotted by FC Sochaux-Montbéliard and joined the training center. He played his first match with the first team in 2015, when he was only 18 years old and won the Gambardella Cup (French U18 Cup) the same year, scoring in the final.

In 2017, he left Sochaux for Brittany and EA Guingamp. In two years, the striker scored 17 goals and was spotted by the German club Borussia Monchengladbach. He was transferred in the summer of 2019 for 12 million euros ($13 million US). He scored 10 goals in his first season. In 2020, he was called up for the French team for the first time, at the age of 22.

While Képhren Thuram's career origins echo his father's. From his debut at AC Boulogne-Billancourt in 2014, the young Képhren impressed and passed the entry tests for INF Clairefontaine, which means that he is one of the twenty best Ile-de-France players of the 2001 generation.

Képhren follows in his father's footsteps and joins the AS Monaco training center. On 'the Rock', the midfielder impresses with his technical ease and an already very solid physique.

Despite the prospects for the future offered to him by Monaco, he signed his first professional contract with the rival Nice in 2019 and, from his first season, began to chain matches under the orders of an old friend of his father, Patrick Vieira. A complete midfielder, he would be a starter in the following season.

In 2023, Képhren Thuram is seen as the future of the French team in midfield. Physically solid, technically comfortable, and endowed with a good vision of the game, he embodies the modern player. According to several rumors, PSG and Chelsea also are closely following the progress of the young player.

Finally, there is one last Thuram who plays football, Yohann Thuram, Lilian's nephew. Yohan, now  34, is playing at the Quevilly-Rouen club as a goalkeeper. He notably played two seasons in Ligue 1 with Troyes between 2011 and 2013.