Paul Nebel has helped fire Mainz up to third in the Bundesliga table this season, but what else is there to know about the diminutive attacking midfielder who packs a mighty punch? bundesliga.com has the lowdown...

Stats correct as of 19 March 2025

Paul Nebel

Age: 22 (born 10 October 2002)
Club: Mainz
Position: Attacking midfield/ winger
Country: Germany (U21s)/ Ireland 

Key stats and facts

Nebel has hit seven goals and two assists in the Bundesliga this season, helping the unfancied 05ers up to the heady heights of third, with a first ever UEFA Champions League qualification now looking like a distinct possibility.

Nebel was born in Bad Nauheim, just north of Frankfurt, in October 2002, a few months after Germany had finished as runners-up to Brazil at the World Cup co-hosted by Japan and South Korea.

He now lines up beside a South Korean international in Lee Jae-sung as one of two No.10s in Mainz's 3-4-2-1 system, but he began his footballing life as a right-back, only becoming a more attacking player on joining the 05ers' fabled academy at the age of 14.

Watch: Nebel scores a brace as Mainz beat Eintracht Frankfurt

He rose quickly through the youth ranks for club and country, and after captaining Germany at the 2019 UEFA European Under-17 Championship and helping Mainz to a runners-up finish in the Regionalliga Südwest in 2020, he was promoted to the first-team squad that summer.

A Bundesliga debut followed in September 2020, with Nebel replacing now Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta late on in a 3-1 loss at RB Leipzig at the tender age of 17 years, 11 months and 11 days - making him Mainz's youngest ever Bundesliga player at the time.

A two-year spell on loan with Karlsruhe followed, and since his return last year his form has helped fire Mainz to the brink history.

Plays a bit like: Xherdan Shaqiri

Nebel may not boast the same musculature as Switzerland's former Bayern Munich star Xherdan Shaqiri, but their similarities extend beyond simply sharing a birthdate.

Nebel, like Shaqiri, boasts a low centre of gravity at 5'7", which helps him escape challenges in and around the edge of the box, whilst he also has a potent shot from range, which in Nebel's case can come from his left or right foot.

Xherdan Shaqiri shares his height and birthday with Nebel - and plenty in between. - Lennart Preiss/Bongarts/Getty Images

About the players

8

Paul

Nebel

1. FSV Mainz 05

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Did you know?

Nebel has racked up 42 youth international caps with Germany but he remains eligible to represent the Republic of Ireland, thanks to his Dublin-born maternal grandmother.

"My grandmother's name is Maura, she was born and raised in Dublin and came to Germany in her early 20s," he explained to the Irish Sun. "Here, she met my grandfather and they had a family. She lives in Germany the majority of the time but still flies to Ireland quite often as she still has relatives there and a house, where we used to vacation when we were kids."

What they're saying

"Our whole family is crazy about football. Actually, my grandfather was a pretty well-known goalkeeper in the regional lower leagues of my home county Wetterau. When I was at youth tournaments back in the day, I was regularly asked whether I was the grandson of Wolfgang Nebel." - Nebel on his footballing heritage

"We know Paul's a good player. Now he's scoring goals and that's obviously the next step for him. He's getting better, better and better in every game. He's freer, always wants to have the ball and wants to improve in every training session. He wasn't in the starting XI for the first seven games and now he's a regular. These are the next steps and I'm very proud of him." - Mainz head coach Bo Henriksen on Nebel's progress

About the clubs

1. FSV Mainz 05

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