13 fun facts about Kai Havertz

At a very young age, Havertz had already got the experience of being a footballer. When he was merely four years old, the future Chelsea striker would play for amateur club Alemannia Mariadorf. His grandfather, Richard, was the chairman of the team and helped the German forward get some valuable lessons which would benefit him later in his career.

While the Bayer Leverkusen academy product and his family were primarily supporters of local club Alemannia Aachen, Havertz was an ardent supporter of La Liga giants Barcelona as a child.

If one were to enter his childhood bedroom, one would find it adorned with Barcelona memorabilia. Havertz has cited Barca legends Samuel Eto'o and Ronaldinho as players he enjoyed watching as a kid, particularly during their victory over Arsenal in the 2006 Champions League final.

With his tally of 17 goals during the 2018-19 season, Kai Havertz broke the record of most goals by a teenager in a single Bundesliga season.

As a result of his performances that year Havertz came second in the rankings for German Footballer of the Year, with Borussia Dortmund ace Marco Reus getting the jump on him.

Havertz cemented his name in Bundesliga legacy instantly after making his debut for the senior team by providing an assist to then-teammate Karim Bellarabi during their game against Augsburg, which would be the 50,000th goal scored in the league's history.

Since then, Havertz entered his name into the Bundesliga record books every season, highlighting that he was one of the biggest prospects to emerge in the league's history.

Players often miss games due to injuries, suspension, and personal issues, but Havertz missed a few games during his debut season because of school.

One of the most important games the German forward missed was Bayer Leverkusen's Champions League Round of 16 away leg against Atletico Madrid. Later that campaign, he had to sit out of a match against Schalke in the league as he had final exams coming.

He was one of the most highly-rated football prospects, but at the end of the day, he was also simply a normal teenager focused on his education.

While many of Havertz's records have been broken by fellow German and Bayer Leverkusen academy product Florian Wirtz after he left the club, one that remains with him is that of the youngest-ever Bundesliga player to reach 100 appearances.

He achieved this feat at the age of 20 years, six months and four days, beating the record previously held by future Chelsea teammate Timo Werner.

Havertz is in the elite company of countrymen such as Toni Kroos, Antonio Rudiger, and Mario Gotze, to name a few, who have won the Fritz Walter Medal. The award is given to the best U19 German player of the respective year.

The future Champions League winner won the award in July 2018, beating compatriot and then Hertha Berlin midfielder Arne Maier for it.

Over the course of their international career, players pass through various levels from U16-U21 before making their debut with the senior team, once the manager feels they're ready.

However, Havertz impressed then-manager Joachim Low so much that he went straight from the U19s to the senior team, skipping the U21 stage.

Havertz is best friends with fellow German international and former Bayer Leverkusen teammate Julian Brandt. The duo's friendship and understanding reflected on the field too with both players' chemistry causing havoc for the opposition defence.

While the two no longer play for the same club with Havertz at Chelsea and Brandt at Borussia Dortmund, they are again inseparable when they reunite during international duty.

Inspired by his elder brother Jan after he started playing the guitar, Havertz started to learn how to play the piano as he too wanted to play an instrument like his older sibling.

Now it is one of his favourite hobbies and whenever the Chelsea forward has some downtime one of the activities he indulges is in playing the piano.

During his Bundesliga days, Havertz was given the nickname "Alleskonner" (someone who can do anything), by the German media due to his ability to do multiple things with the ball on the field.

Despite leaving Germany in 2020 to move to Chelsea, he retains the nickname at the London club as he has played multiple positions for the Blues over his three-year stay.

If there's one thing Havertz loves more than football and his family, it is donkeys. From a young age, the German forward always dreamt of adopting a donkey, and as an adult he is finally living his dream as he has a sanctuary of the four-hoofed mammals whom he often visits when he wants to get over a bad performance.

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Due to his versatile play style Havertz has been compared with many former and current players. However, he has been compared the most with compatriots Michael Ballack (who also played for Chelsea) and Mesut Ozil.

Havertz especially agrees with comparisons made with the latter, as he thinks that how they play is similar and he tries to learn a lot from the former Arsenal player.