Breel Donald Embolo (born 14 February 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Monaco and the Switzerland national team. Born in Cameroon, Embolo moved with his family to France before finally settling in Switzerland. After working his way through their junior teams, Embolo made his professional debut for Basel in March 2014, and won the Swiss Super League in all three of his first seasons before moving to Schalke 04 for a reported fee of €20 million. Shortly after moving to the Bundesliga, he suffered an ankle injury that ruled him out for nearly a year. He later played in Germany for Borussia Mönchengladbach and in the French Ligue 1 for Monaco. Embolo made his senior international debut in 2015, earning over 60 caps. He represented Switzerland at the UEFA European Championship in 2016 and 2020, and at the FIFA World Cup in the 2018 and 2022. Early life Embolo was born on 14 February 1997 in the Cameroonian capital Yaoundé. His parents separated when he was young, and at the age of five or six, his mother moved to France where he attended school; he was raised between Toulouse and Paris. Whilst there she met her future husband, a Swiss national. The following year, the family moved to Basel in Switzerland. Embolo received Swiss citizenship on 12 December 2014. His girlfriend Naomi gave birth to their daughter Naliya in June 2018. Club career Early career Embolo started his youth football with Nordstern. At the age of ten, Embolo failed his first trial with Basel, so he moved to the Old Boys. He was finally allowed to join the FCB youth system in their U-13 team. In the 2011–12 and 2012–13 seasons he played in Basel's U-16. With the U-16 team he won the Swiss Championship title twice at this level. He received various individual prizes, such as the Basel youngster of the year 2013. On 8 March 2013, just three weeks after his 16th birthday, he signed his first professional contract with the club. In summer 2013 he advanced to play in their U-18 and U-21 teams. FC Basel During the winter break of their 2013–14 season, Embolo advanced to Basel's first team under head coach Murat Yakin. After appearing in two test games, Embolo made his professional debut on 13 March 2014 as a 90th-minute substitute for Geoffroy Serey in the