Like most kids born in Texas, football was one of Weston McKennie’s first loves. But when he moved to Germany at the age of six, soccer took over.
His father, John, served as a Marine Corp and in the army and a young Weston had to move to Europe with his family for three years. In Germany, soccer is everywhere and McKennie soon joined a local team.
But it was when the US national team were in town, playing a World Cup warmup game against Poland in Kaiserslautern, where McKennie was truly besotted with soccer.
The crowd was primarily made up of US military personnel and before the game, a young McKennie got to meet two USMNT stars in Landon Donovan and Carlos Bocanegra.
24-year-old midfielder Weston McKennie is one of the key players in the USA team
Age six and living in Germany, he met USA stars Landon Donovan (left) and Carlos Bocanegra
Knowing he could represent his country inspired a young McKennie to make it professionally
‘It was a life-changing experience for me,’ McKennie told Bundesliga.com years later. ‘I didn’t know you could play in the national team. In football you can’t, so when I met those guys I thought, “Wow, I can aspire to be bigger than just playing for my club”.’
The USA crashed out that World Cup in Germany at the group stage but a star of future tournaments had been born. McKennie was a central figure in the USA team at the World Cup in Qatar – a side that, while this time going out in the last-16 – impressed the rest of the world.
This USMNT group is young, packed with potential and McKennie is at the heart of it.
He formed a dynamic midfield three – nicknamed ‘MMA’ – alongside Yunus Musah, 20, and captain Tyler Adams, 23.
At 24, McKennie already has 41 caps to his name, with nine goals, and is the most experienced of three thanks to playing his club soccer with Italian giant Juventus.
He returned to America when he was nine and was soon scouted by Dallas. But at 17, German team Schalke made him an offer and after breaking through into the first team, Juventus soon made a move.
McKennie joined the Italian team – one of Europe’s elite – on his 22nd birthday.
And it was there that he struck up a friendship with Cristiano Ronaldo. They played on the same team for a year before Ronaldo’s ill-fated return to Manchester United.
McKennie returned to Germany as a teenager with Schalke and soon become a regular
On his 22nd birthday, McKennie landed a dream move to European heavyweight Juventus
It was there in Italy where McKennie spent a season playing alongside Cristiano Ronaldo
‘Cristiano is incredible. He’s a guy who enjoys working, he likes it. He has a different way of taking care of his body,’ McKennie said. ‘We would come back from away games maybe at three in the morning and we had training the next morning.
‘The others went to the locker room, changed and went home. I hate ice baths! Ronaldo, on the other hand, would undress, put a towel around his neck and dip in.
‘He said to me: “come with me, it’s good for you, if you don’t want to do five minutes, do 20-30 seconds, let’s stay here and talk”. I couldn’t say no! We stayed there and talked about the match.
‘He’s a really genuine guy, straight to the point, he wants to win, he has a great mentality and we also joke around – he calls me Texas Boy! For a player with all the accomplishments in his career, he could be snobby and stuck up, but he’s very open and warm.’
McKennie himself is in good condition, as the World Cup demonstrated. He went into the tournament having been sidelined for a month due to a thigh injury.
He recovered in time for Qatar but was not at 100 per cent – he didn’t play a full 90 minutes in any game for the USA, despite starting all four they played.
McKennie first joined Juventus on a loan move, but the switch was soon made permanent
Away from soccer McKennie he enjoys making music and might one day release his work
‘He is one of my favorite players the US has ever produced,’ Brad Friedel wrote in a column for DailyMail.Com before the World Cup started.
‘Wes is the type of kid who will be heading the ball away in his own box, he has the guile and skill to wriggle out of tight areas, a range of passing, a powerful shot on him, a powerful attacking header – the kid has everything.’
Away from soccer, McKennie unwinds through music. He can play the piano and has his own studio at his house.
‘I like to just write lyrics to rap and do all other types of things. I have a bunch of songs, but I’ll wait for the right time (to release them),’ McKennie told GQ.
The best stories of McKennie’s career are still to be written. A World Cup on home soil in 2026 is now the next long-term target on the international stage, by which time he will be around his peak at 27 years old.
He could become a hugely influential figure in the growth of soccer across the US. In years to come, future Weston McKennies won’t need to move to Germany to catch the soccer bug.