26-year-old American soccer player, Weston McKennie is one of the versatile players on the U.S. national team. He was signed by Juventus on a 4-year contract that will expire in June 2025. Having started his professional career in 2017, the defensive midfielder has played for the German club, Schalke 04.
His career has been a success as he won titles such as Coppa Italia (2020-21), Supercoppa Italiana (2020), CONCACAF Nations League (2019-20), CONCACAF Gold Cup runner-up (2019), and U.S. Soccer Player of the Year (2020).
Interesting Facts About the American Midfielder
1. Mckennie Had His Early life in Germany
Weston James Earl McKennie was born on August 28,1998, in Little Elm, Texas. After his birth, his parents (John McKennie and Tina McKennie) moved to Kaiserslautern, Germany.
Weston’s Parents relocated because his father, a U.S. Airforce Officer was stationed to work there.
He started his elementary education in Germany and at the age of 6, he moved back to the United States where he furthered his education.
2. Earl‘s Youth Career Kickstarted at an Early Age
McKennie’s passion for soccer began at an early age. At the age of 6, he was playing for Phoenix FC. When he moved back to the United States, he started his youth career at Dallas Academy where he played for seven years from 2009-2016.
Thereafter, Weston signed a letter of intent to play for the University of Virginia but later changed his mind and wanted to play for a professional team.
3. Weston Started His Professional Career With FC Schalke at The Age of 18
To further his professional career, the Texas-born footballer joined the German Bundesliga, FC Schalke in August 2016 at the age of 18. A year later, he was promoted to the first-team Squad where he had his professional debut in May 2017.
Subsequently, he signed a five-year deal with the club. He made so many appearances in the Bundesliga and played as a midfielder and the defense of his team.
During his five years contract, McKennie played in the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, and UEFA Champions. He became valuable with versatility skills that he could play multiple positions in the midfield and defense of the club.
Following his progress, he got loaned out to Juventus in September 2020 for a loan fee of € 4.50m which expired on June 30, 2021. A month after, Juventus signed Weston with a four-year contract with a fee of € 20.5 million.
4. McKennie Became The Third-Youngest Player to Score in His National Team Debut
The Midfielder made his international debut in 2017 against Portugal during a friendly march. Weston scored a goal for his team which made him the third-youngest player to score for the United States on a debut.
He began playing for the US Under-17 in the 2013-14 season then he moved to U19 and U20 before his call-up to the senior team.
Consequently, he played in the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup and the 21 CONCACAF.
5. The Player Was Dropped From Playing a Match For Breaking Covid-19 Protocols
In 2021, while the final round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying was on, McKennie was dropped because he violated the Covid-19 protocols.
The player had a guest in his hotel room which was prohibited for all players and officials. He was suspended from playing a match against Canada which resulted in him missing two matches.
6. The Texas-Born Had Interest in American Football
Earl had an interest in football. While growing up, he often played football and soccer. When he finished playing soccer, he would take his place as a running back, safety, and kicker with a group he played with.
Moreso, he is a great fan of the Washington Redskins, and his dad is a Dallas Cowboy fan.
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7. Weston McKennie Has a Studio in His Home
The soccer player in 26 Stories about his life, divulged that he had a studio in his home. He got himself a piano and plays it in the studio.
Before this, he didn’t know how to play the piano but later took a lesson on YouTube. According to him, his act of learning wasn’t for him to play to an audience but for himself, because he loves to listen to songs and try to play them on the piano.
8. He is Multilingual
The 26-year-old McKennie who is a native speaker of English is fluent in three other languages which are Italian, Spanish, and German.
He acquired German as a second language while he was in Germany and learned Italian and Spanish in the cause of his career.
9. He is a Fervent Lover of Dogs
Earl is a lover of dogs and has two species, a Siberian Husky and an Akita as pets. The husky breed is colored black and white and the Akita is brown and white.
In one of his Instagram posts, he said a person who doesn’t own a dog has missed a part of life with the pictures of the dogs laying in the woods. He referred to one of the dogs as his son while he held the dog’s jaw and his hand around it.
10. He Has an Estimated Net worth of €3 Million
Weston McKennie’s net worth is estimated to be €3 Million which he has earned from his salary, contract, and endorsement in his career.
From his salary and contract, McKennie makes €61,731 weekly and € 3,210,000 yearly. At the end of his contract with Juventus, the midfielder will earn €12,840,000.
Also, he has an endorsement deal with Adidas that has gained a certain amount of cash that is summoned to his estimated net worth.
At a young age, Weston McKennie has achieved a lot in his career. The versatile midfielder and a defensive player who features alongside Paul Pogba, Angel Di Maria, and Leandro Paredes. This will give him a chance to show his style and skills. If he continues his career at the same pace he’s going or if he turns out better, he may turn out to play for successful teams and win several titles.
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