During an interview with La Gazzetta Dello Sport in February, Timothy Weah discussed his father’s influence and why he picked USMNT, revealing that he had made a trial at Chelsea and that he supports Arsenal.
The 22-year-old striker made headlines with his first World Cup goal for USMNT against Wales (VIDEO), fulfilling his father’s dream who had never played in the competition.
But why did Weah Jr. decide to play for the USA? The Lille striker revealed it in an interview with La Gazzetta Dello Sport this past February.
“I was born in New York and raised in the US, where I started playing football very early in the national team’s youth squads.
“There has always been a special feeling, so the choice was natural. The fact that my father is the President of Liberia did not influence my decision. My parents have always given me a lot of freedom and I think I’ve taken the right decision given that we are about to qualify for the World Cup, it would be a dream.
“Even if I play for the United States, I think I can contribute to the African country through football, trying to be an example.”
Weah Jr. has not only made his World Cup debut but scored in his first match in the competition.
The influence of his father, a 1995 Ballon d’Or Winner with Milan, was significant, especially in the first years of his career.
“I consider myself a balanced person, being called Weah is not a weight,” he said.
“The surname belongs to my family and I play to honour it. The fact that my father was an international star and is the president of a country does not matter. To me, he is still my father. He made an extraordinary career and it’s up to me to continue on his path.
“Should I start thinking about my father’s career, it’d all become more complicated. So I prefer to focus on my football, giving my best and enjoying every moment on the pitch,” he continued.
“My father is a source of inspiration, an example that really motivates me. It’s normal that he won the Ballon d’Or because he was so strong.
“Other African players would have deserved it, such as Eto’o or Mané. Perhaps they paid for the fact of being Africans and this gives even more value to my father’s accomplishments.
“He knows football well and always gives me good advice, the same is true of my mum who is a massive football fan.”
George was playing for Chelsea when Timothy was born and his son had a few trials with the Blues.
“When I was a kid I had a few trials with the Blues because my father was playing there. I have many friends at Chelsea, such as Reece James and Callum Hudson-Odoi.”
The interview was released days before a Champions League Round of 16 meeting between Weah’s club Lille and Chelsea in 2021-22.
Weah is contracted with the Ligue 1 side until 2024 but is attracted by Serie A and has another favourite team in London.
“Serie A is a thrilling league, with many teams battling it out for the title. Perhaps, it’s not at the top like the Premier League, but it was back in the days, like when my father was playing for Milan. Football is a cycle and the Italian league remains one of the best, I’d like to play there one day.
“I am focused on Lille, but I’ve had the ambition of playing for a league like Serie A, especially in a club like Milan which is part of my family’s history.
“He [George] never speaks about it openly, but when I was a kid, there was the idea of making me play in their youth sector. Things went differently but one day I may join Milan. Things happen quickly in football, you never know what can happen.”
Weah played with Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan at PSG, but during his latest interview with Gazzetta, he revealed that he is also a good friend of Rafael Leao and Fikayo Tomori.
“I also speak about Serie A with Weston McKennie and Moise Kean.
“I’ve been an Arsenal fan since I was a kid,” he concluded. “That’s because of my mother who was a fan of Arsene Wenger and used to bring me to watch games at the Emirates Stadium.”
Weah joined PSG’s youth sector in 2014 from New York Red Bulls. He spent six months on loan at Celtic in 2019 before a permanent €10m move to Lille in the summer of the same year. He made six appearances with PSG and has eight goals in 81 appearances across all competitions with Lille.