At 34 years of age, Chris Mavinga has made his mark as a professional soccer player in Europe and North America, having played in Ligue 1, the Jupiler Pro League, the Russian Premier League, and MLS across his 12-year playing career. However, it's fair to say that Mavinga's story began thanks to Africa.
Born in Meaux, France, to an Angolan mother and a Congolese father, Mavinga grew up plying his trade on the streets of the Paris metropolitan region and developing his skills with a number of amateur French sides before eventually joining Paris Saint-Germain in 2006 after impressing against their U-16 side, rejecting interest from Liverpool in the process. He spent three years at PSG, rising through the academy and even training with the first team, but he never quite managed to do enough to earn his professional debut or a senior contract. It's why he decided to depart the club in 2009, leaving Paris for the first time in his life and making the move to Liverpool, rejecting a move to Arsenal in the process.
Whilst Mavinga enjoyed success with the reserves and started training with the first team under Rafa Benitez, he was relegated back to the B team under new coach Roy Hodgson, prompting him to seek out a loan move midway through the 2010/11 season to Genk. Mavinga made his senior debut and won the Belgian top-flight during his brief spell before making the move to Ligue 1 side Rennes, where he emerged as a key figure in defense. However, after traveling to a Parisian nightclub with his teammates in between France's U-21 Euro qualifiers in November 2012, he was banned from the France national team for a substantial time period, as well as branded a national pariah. It eventually led to Chris Mavinga being pushed out of the club in the following summer and joining Russian club Rubin Kazan.