- Luca Zidane will play for Algeria in the 2026 FIFA World Cup
- Luca is the son of retired footballer Zinedine Zidane, a celebrated Frenchman known for his plausible football skills
- The 27-year-old French-born goalkeeper says he has a special bond with Algeria
Luca Zidane will play for Algeria in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, in what is the biggest twist in football history given his French citizenship.
Luca is the son of retired footballer Zinedine Zidane, a celebrated Frenchman known for his plausible football skills and flaring tempers.
The young footballer, following in his father’s footsteps, is now the subject of debate in football circles.
Why is Luca Zidane Playing for Algeria?
The 27-year-old French-born goalkeeper says he has a special bond with Algeria. Luca Zidane told FIFA that he was following his heart’s desire by switching his football allegiance to Algeria.
FIFA approved his application to play for Algeria despite being a French national. He will star in the team’s World Cup qualifier match against Somalia in October.
Luca is one of Zidane’s four sons who attend Real Madrid Football Academy and play for Granada, a second-tier football club in the Spanish league.
Luca is the second-born with vast football experience, having played for Madrid and La Liga’s Rayo Vallecano. He left the La Liga team in 2022 to join Eibar and later relocated to Andalusia in 2024.
Is Luca Zidane African?
Luca Zidane is French by birth. He was born outside Marseille, France’s second-largest city, in the Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur region. However, he has African roots courtesy of his father Zinedine Zidane.
His father and mother came from Kabylie, a region located in northern Algeria. This region is deep in the Atlas Mountains.
Luca feels indebted to honour his grandparents’ memories by playing for Algeria. He discussed this move with his father and mother before seeking FIFA’s approval to represent the Desert Warriors.
His father has a glowing football history for France. He scored two goals for France during its 1998 World Cup final over Brazil. Zinedine’s final moments on the pitch before retiring from football during the 2006 World Cup.
France lost to Italy in a fierce penalty shootout. However, it’s his loss of temper that football fans remember him for during this final match.
Luca Zidane was born on May 13, 1998, in Aix-en-Provence, located on the outskirts of Marseille.
Growing up with a star footballer as a father made Luca love football. His father enrolled him at the Real Madrid Youth Academy together with his three other brothers, when he was only six years old.
He stayed at the academy throughout his teenage years and left in 2016 for Real Madrid Castilla where he played in the first team. Luca’s featured Castilla vs Villarreal La Liga match in 2018.
Real Madrid Castilla loaned him to Racing Santander for the 2019-20 season as a first-team goalkeeper. Luca Zidane later joined Roy Vallecano in 2020 and helped the team advance to La Liga.
In 2022, he moved to Eibar on a two-year contract which ended in 2024 when he joined second division Spanish club, Granada.
Luca Zidane Net Worth
The 27-year-old has an estimated net worth of $10 million as of 2025, all of which from his football career. He started earning as a teenager and represented France in U16, U17, U18, U19, and U20.
He got good bargains from the clubs he played for since 2020.
