Bryan Madjo made history on the biggest night of his career by starting for Aston Villa against Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup final at 17 years and 212 days old. Unai Emery put the teenager in Aston Villa's starting XI and, with one team sheet, turned a selection choice into a record.
The reason the moment landed immediately is simple: Opta said Madjo was the youngest player to start a UEFA Super Cup final since records began in 2006. Alexis, known as Mister Chip, went further and said he became the youngest player to start any European final.
That distinction matters because the age mark has to be read carefully. Mister Chip noted that Ronald de Boer appeared in the 1987 Super Cup at 17 years and 193 days, and Ibrahim Mbaye appeared in the 2025 edition at 17 years and 201 days. But both came on as substitutes, not starters. Madjo's record is narrower, and that is exactly why it stands: it is a starting record, not merely an appearance record.
For Emery, the choice was not just about giving a talented teenager a taste of the occasion. It was a call that placed Madjo at the center of a UEFA Super Cup final from the opening whistle, against Paris Saint-Germain, in a match that will now be remembered for the age of one player as much as the result. The unanswered part is not whether the record is real; it is why Emery trusted him to begin a final of this size, and the answer to that sits with the coach's judgment rather than the statistics.
