{"id":845327,"date":"2026-09-12T14:02:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T14:02:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/845327\/"},"modified":"2026-09-12T14:02:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T14:02:15","slug":"i-find-a-bit-of-myself-in-sunderland-thomas-meunier-on-his-new-life-in-england-a-striking-past-and-balogun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/845327\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I find a bit of myself in Sunderland\u2019: Thomas Meunier on his new life in England, a striking past and Balogun"},"content":{"rendered":"

Not many footballers schedule interviews for eight o\u2019clock in the morning. But then, as it soon becomes clear, not many footballers are Thomas Meunier.<\/p>\n

Shortly after 8am, Meunier laughs as he declares himself \u201chyperactive\u201d, and you begin to better understand a personal and professional trajectory that took him from delivering the mail and fixing car windscreens as a teenager in rural Belgium to signing for clubs including Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain and now Sunderland.<\/p>\n

We can add Meunier\u2019s 83 games for Belgium, which have included the past three World Cups.<\/p>\n

Meunier has strong opinions about the last of those \u2014 understandable given Belgium\u2019s Folarin Balogun experience. We will come to them.<\/p>\n

This man with a hinterland has committed to Wearside, moving his family close to the Stadium of Light, strolling on Sunderland\u2019s Roker Beach and taking selfies at the local landmark, Penshaw Monument.<\/p>\n

The latter will seem incongruous to some; Meunier will not mind that, he appreciates surrealism. While touching on Flemish painting, he mentions \u201cPierre Paul Rubens\u201d on his way to Rene Magritte and the Belgian Federation\u2019s use of surrealist art on the team\u2019s latest World Cup jersey.<\/p>\n

\u201cI studied it at school, and I am still interested in art and surrealism,\u201d Meunier says. \u201cIt\u2019s really a Belgian thing \u2014 still now, if you look at the politics and everything. I really like the way the national team always tries to teach people: \u2018What is Belgium?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

\n The Penshaw Monument, between Sunderland and nearby Washington, County Durham (David Goddard via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Today brings something real: Meunier is 35. He will mark his birthday with another eight o\u2019clock start, this one an 8pm kick-off as Sunderland host England\u2019s new champions, Arsenal. Last November, also on a Saturday evening, Brian Brobbey scored an added-time equaliser for Sunderland in the corresponding fixture, a raucous 2-2 draw.<\/p>\n

Assuming he\u2019s selected, it will be Meunier\u2019s third experience of Premier League. He was once the subject of Arsenal transfer speculation when Unai Emery, previously his head coach at PSG, was in situ at the Emirates Stadium. Was there contact?<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, never,\u201d is Meunier\u2019s forceful \u2014 and abrupt \u2014 reply.<\/p>\n

Otherwise he is an expansive presence, 6ft 3in (191cm) and gregarious. He could have joined Sunderland from his previous club, Lille in France, a year ago. An injury crisis at Lille interrupted the plan, he says. But after playing in his homeland, Germany, Turkey and France, Meunier is delighted to be at Sunderland.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s English football, exactly what I watched when I was younger,\u201d he says of his first impressions. \u201cFull stadium, nice vibe, very good level, lots of intensity, everything you\u2019re looking for. I like this organised mess, if I can call it that.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I think about it, I\u2019m a bit sad not to have signed for an English club earlier. But I did it, finally. And I am really happy to have signed for Sunderland in particular, because they represent everything I like \u2014 everything I love, even \u2014 in football. This popular passion. This city, a walkable city, like where I come from. To be honest, I find a bit of myself in Sunderland.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all new. Rewind to early July and Meunier was still a Lille player, one on duty for his country at the World Cup. Belgium had just come back from two down against Senegal to win 3-2 after extra time. Victory set up a last-16 tie against co-hosts the United States.<\/p>\n

If the Belgium squad thought the Senegal match was dramatic, it was nothing compared to what was to come.<\/p>\n

Forty-eight hours before the meeting with the Americans, FIFA announced striker Balogun\u2019s one-game ban for receiving a red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32 was to be suspended for a year<\/a>. Balogun could play against Belgium.<\/p>\n

Everyone in football knew this was a clear contradiction of the rules and a violation of the spirit of the game. They also knew of FIFA president Gianni Infantino\u2019s sycophancy towards U.S. President Donald Trump. Political and economic interests had entered the field of play.<\/p>\n

Thus Balogun was in the USMNT starting XI and remained on the pitch for 89 minutes. The outrage felt across the football world was shared within the Belgium squad and, highly motivated<\/a>, they won 4-1.<\/p>\n

Two months on, Meunier, who was on the bench for the 90 minutes that day, gives a brief, composed Belgian assessment of the Balogun affair and this World Cup overall.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do believe politics and football do not have to be partners in any way,\u201d he begins, \u201cbut the problem is that football reflects what people think \u2014 it can be heard in the stands: racism, a lot of things. So is it really possible to divide football and politics?<\/p>\n

\u201cFederations are political, the financial aspect, everything is linked. It\u2019s a bit like a government. As long as the politicians take the best decision for the people, it\u2019s not a problem. But, if the politics are \u2014 I\u2019m not going to say \u2018corrupted\u2019, but go against sport \u2014 then it\u2019s dangerous.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that\u2019s what we had with Balogun. The consequences of their defeat went on him, but he didn\u2019t ask for anything<\/a>. This was too much, too much on him. But after that incident, this conflict, everyone wanted us to beat America because of that situation. Everyone wanted them to be eliminated.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Thomas<\/p>\n

\n Thomas Meunier made three appearances for Belgium at the summer\u2019s World Cup (Florencia Tan Jun\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

His tone is not one of anger, more dejection that Infantino\u2019s FIFA could so arrogantly tarnish the World Cup\u2019s reputation. And Meunier adds with downbeat realism: \u201cI think this event was a reflection of the whole World Cup \u2014 led by capitalism, entertainment, money. This World Cup was the dark side of traditional football.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe positive is that we have seen America is a sports country and they have the infrastructure to organise a World Cup every year. But as long as it stays about football and nothing more. The problem is that football was not the first priority at World Cup 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Belgium went on to meet Spain in the quarter-finals, losing 2-1 to the tournament\u2019s eventual winners. Meunier returned home to receive calls from Sunderland director of football Florent Ghisolfi, and then their head coach Regis Le Bris.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a call for more than an hour,\u201d Meunier says of Le Bris. \u201cIt was the first time I had a call with the trainer explaining what he wants, asking me how I see the game, if I had watched a few Sunderland games. It was really interesting.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the time, the technical director is the one deciding \u2014 at Dortmund, Michael Zorc was deciding everything; at Paris, a bit the same. This was the first time I saw a trainer involved in the transfer process.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not a kid anymore and I think I understand football, so it was positive to have someone speaking to me like that, asking if I understand how he wants the team to play. He took the time to explain his vision. I liked that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Regis<\/p>\n

\n Le Bris instructs Meunier from the touchline during Sunderland\u2019s win against Fulham last month (Matt McNulty\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Meunier has joined a Sunderland squad who finished seventh in the Premier League last season as a promoted side, qualifying for the Europa League, bringing European football to Wearside for the first time since 1973. After Arsenal, it\u2019s AZ of the Netherlands at the Stadium of Light next Wednesday \u2014 a landmark game \u2014 then a visit to Manchester City. This is Sunderland\u2019s biggest week in over half a century.<\/p>\n

For Meunier, it is the latest step in a career which started hesitantly. Born and raised in Sainte-Ode on the eastern fringe of Belgium, he joined the Standard Liege academy as a young teenager. It did not work for him \u2014 off the pitch, he could not settle into dormitory life; on it, he was not a winger. Standard stationed Meunier there and, as he says, \u201cIt\u2019s not my game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not that he saw himself as the full-back we recognise today either. Hyperactive Meunier had different ideas: \u201cMy game is to be everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFinally,\u201d he says, Standard \u201csacked (released) me, after the second year. I felt sacked, let\u2019s say it that way. And I was quite happy. I remember that day. It was a key moment. I was with my mum and we left the office laughing. She knew it was what I wanted. She was a bit disappointed. But she saw it was a relief. After that, at 16, I went to Virton\u201d.<\/p>\n

Royal Excelsior Virton were a third-division club located 30 miles (50km) south of Sainte-Ode. It was part-time football, enabling Meunier to study and work first as a postman, then in a car factory. But it was not for long.<\/p>\n

His performances for Virton began to catch eyes. He was given a first taste of England at Luton Town\u2019s Kenilworth Road, playing for Belgium Under-21s against England \u2018C\u2019, yet that may not be as esoteric a detail as a reason Meunier was impressing \u2014 or even the fact France midfielder and Leicester City and Chelsea old boy N\u2019Golo Kante now owns Virton, buying them for one euro, plus debts, in June 2023.<\/p>\n

No, half a lifetime ago, Meunier was a teenage striker. He scored a goal for Virton we can describe as borderline surreal, a \u2018rabona\u2019 finish on the run<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He smiles knowingly as old footage of his younger self reappears on a laptop screen. The goal made waves in Belgium, and it is easy to see why. \u201cThis one is crazy,\u201d he says, laughing again. \u201cTotal improvisation, yes?\u201d<\/p>\n

True, replies The Athletic, and you look like a natural striker\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cI am a striker!\u201d responds the right-back.\u00a0\u201cYou know, I became a defender when I was 22? I\u2019m not going to say I never defended before that, but I was a No 10. From a really young age, my abilities were to get the ball and create the game. I was really offensive, could play on the left or the right, as a No 9.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the thing is, I\u2019m hyperactive \u2014 on and off the pitch \u2014 and if I have to stand as a No 9, for example, and just do that, it\u2019s not possible. I need to move. Just give me the ball, and we play, play, play. And those goals you see, they went on YouTube. Technology helped me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

\n A young Thomas Meunier playing for Club Brugge in 2011 (Bruno Fahy\/Belga Mag\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The Virton goals and the publicity generated led to a \u20ac200,000 (\u00a3172,000; $233,000 at the current rates) move to Club Brugge, one of Belgium\u2019s top clubs. Meunier was 19, it was 2011, and he was an attacker. He scored on his debut and recalls doing so again soon after in a hectic 5-4 defeat against Genk in which Kevin De Bruyne registered a hat-trick for the opposition.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah. It was just before his transfer to Chelsea.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then Club Brugge had a defensive crisis before a Europa League game and Meunier was asked if he would cover at right-back. \u201cIt was not something planned,\u201d he says. \u201cThey said, \u2018Just do a job, and we\u2019ll see after.\u2019 Then they didn\u2019t change me.\u201d<\/p>\n

He is laughing again.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy biggest regret is to have played a good game that day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t really complain. When I see my curriculum vitae today, I played for Paris (PSG), the Belgian national team \u2014 this (moving to full-back) opened a door for me. It was probably the worst and best sporting decision of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the summer of 2016, not long before his 25th birthday, Meunier left Bruges for Paris. He first encountered Emery, currently Aston Villa manager, at PSG, then played for his successor Thomas Tuchel, now England\u2019s head coach. Meunier admires both and calls them \u201cflexible \u2014 they wanted the team to have fun on the pitch, firstly. With respect, of course, it\u2019s not a carnival.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnai was more formal. We had more tactical sessions, like 10-against-zero for 45 minutes, just moving. That kind of thing. Whereas Tuchel was more ball-minded. Every session was with the ball, even the physical sessions. It\u2019s just different, but at the end, they wanted the same: to dominate, to counter-press, to stop the opponent functioning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Within a year, Meunier was a team-mate of Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Angel Di Maria. He was a defined full-back but one who kept scoring. There was a game against Dijon early in his second season when he got both goals in a 2-1 win. Reminded, Meunier smiles again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI scored twice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Did he nudge Mbappe or Neymar?<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course not (more laughing). In training, in small-sided games, there is no real position any more. They could see. I can play as a No 9, eh? But my job at PSG was to be a sparring partner. It was my luck to be in a dominant team \u2014 70 or 80 per cent ball possession. At that moment, I am not a right-back, I am a winger who has to defend.<\/p>\n

\u201cNowadays footballers are polyvalent \u2014 Trai (Hume, his Sunderland team-mate) is playing right wing. I think everyone can play two or three positions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Kylian<\/p>\n

\n Kylian Mbappe and Neymar congratulate Thomas Meunier after his goal for PSG against Rennes in January 2018 (Loic Venance\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

After Arsenal today and AZ on Wednesday, Meunier will see Erling Haaland \u2014 the two were together at Dortmund from 2o20-22 \u2014 and, following this transfer window, Ayyoub Bouaddi, at City next Sunday. The teenage midfielder had been a team-mate at Lille the past two seasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s just transferred for \u00a3100million,\u201d Meunier says.<\/p>\n

Is he worth that?<\/p>\n

\u201cAyyoub is unbelievable. But, I mean, we don\u2019t need to speak about money, because there is no logic anymore. You can buy a donkey for \u00a3200million and a very good player for \u00a320m. There is no sense anymore. And Haaland you know. I don\u2019t have to introduce him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Between Dortmund and Lille was a 2024 switch to Trabzonspor in Turkey, where Mohamed Salah has just arrived. Meunier stayed only six months, suggesting unhappiness, but that was not the case, he says. Lille triggered a contract clause to sign him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know how passionate the people of Trabzon are,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s a small city on the Black Sea. It\u2019s a bit in the middle of nowhere, between Istanbul and Georgia. It\u2019s a bit like here (Sunderland) \u2014 they live for football. Sometimes it\u2019s a bit extreme because they are so passionate.<\/p>\n

\u201cVery honestly, I had probably the six best months of my career in Turkey. The support, the way people are, is incredible. We had a really good team, reached the cup final, lost 3-2 to Besiktas in front of 74,000 people. This is an experience. I really loved it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Along the way, Meunier has collected league titles and national cups in Belgium, France and Germany and was part of the Belgium squad who came third at the 2018 World Cup. He has vast European experience, upon which Sunderland can now rely.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have never played without Europe,\u201d he says. \u201cTwo games a week, I\u2019m used to it. It was a big argument from Sunderland to convince me. We do not want to be an average team, just to stay in the Premier League \u2014 no. We were seventh last season and want to be at least the same again. The Europa League also has prestigious games.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t play only for fun, you need a reward. If I\u2019m still, at 35 years old, at a competitive club, it\u2019s because of the way I see football.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Not many footballers schedule interviews for eight o\u2019clock in the morning. But then, as it soon becomes clear,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":845328,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[15106,6090,1084,403,99,24843],"class_list":["post-845327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-belgium","tag-international-football","tag-premier-league","tag-soccer","tag-sports","tag-sunderland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=845327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845327\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/845328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=845327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=845327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=845327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}