El Chadaille Bitshiabu

El Chadaille Bitshiabu (born 16 May 2005) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Galatasaray.

Club career

Paris Saint-Germain Bitshiabu is a former youth player of US Saint-Denis and Boulogne-Billancourt. He joined the Paris Saint-Germain Academy in 2017. He caught attention of the media during a friendly tournament later that year due to his exceptional height at that age.

On 27 July 2020, Bitshiabu signed a three-year aspiring contract with Paris Saint-Germain. He made his first appearance for the senior team the following week on 5 August, in a 1–0 friendly win over Sochaux. On 29 July 2021, Bitshiabu signed his first professional contract, tying him to the club until June 2024. He made his debut for the club in a 3–0 Coupe de France win over Feignies Aulnoye on 19 December 2021. His debut at the age of 16 years and 213 days made him the youngest player to appear in an official match for the club, a record which was previously held by Kingsley Coman. On 20 April 2022, he made his Ligue 1 debut as a substitute in a 3–0 away win over Angers.

On 28 December 2022, Bitshiabu made his first Ligue 1 start for PSG in a 2–1 home win over Strasbourg, playing as a left-back to fill in for the late withdrawal of Juan Bernat due to injury. After the match, manager Christophe Galtier hailed Bitshiabu's performance as "very good". On 8 March 2023, he made his UEFA Champions League debut in a 2–0 defeat against Bayern Munich in the round of 16 second leg, replacing the injured Nordi Mukiele at half-time.

RB Leipzig On 18 July 2023, Bitshiabu signed for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig on a five-year contract, and was assigned the number 5 jersey. The reported transfer fee was €15 million, with an additional €5 million in potential bonuses.

Galatasaray (loan) On 2 September 2026, Turkish Süper Lig giants Galatasaray announced the initiation of official negotiations with Bitshiabu and his club, RB Leipzig, regarding his imminent transfer. Bitshiabu arrived in Istanbul on the same day.

On the same day, he signed a loan agreement with Galatasaray running until the end of the 2026–27 season. Under the agreement, the temporary transfer fee has been set at €2,000,000. The purchase option fee is €28,000,000.

International career Bitshiabu is a French youth international. He started to receive call-ups to French youth teams in January 2020. In 2021, Bitshiabu was called up to play for the France under-18s for the Tournoi International de Limoges.

Personal life Born in France, Bitshiabu is of DR Congolese descent.

Career statistics 2022–23

France U17 UEFA European Under-17 Championship: 2022