Five Twins Who Are Footballers Including Jurrien Timber As He Completes Arsenal Move

Jurrien Timber has become the latest cog in Mikel Arteta's machine as he aims to go toe-to-toe with Manchester City again next season.

The Dutch defender was officially unveiled as an Arsenal player after completing a move from Eredivisie giants Ajax. His arrival will provide more options for the Gunners at the centre of the defence, as well as provide competition for Ben White at right back.

As he settles into North London, did you know that the 22-year-old is among a set of footballers who have twin brothers that also play football? Having a sibling who plays the same sport as you is amazing, but imagine having your twin playing professional football as well.

1. Lars and Sven Bender

The German duo played together for Bayer Leverkusen before retiring together aged 32 in 2021. Sven enjoyed more success after eight years at Borussia Dortmund, where he won two Bundesliga titles and reached the 2013 Champions League final.

He joined his brother at Leverkusen in 2017. Lars was the captain of Werkself from 2015, where he either played as a right-back or in defensive midfield, while Sven played in central defensive or defensive midfield. They were part of Germany's team that won Silver at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

2. Mathias and Florentin Pogba

The Pogbas were in the news headlines last year for all the wrong reasons after allegations of witchcraft and blackmailing rocked the family.

Paul Pogba is undoubtedly the most successful of the three brothers, with the 2018 World Cup triumph amongst his biggest highlights. His elder brothers, Mathias and Florentin, are twins who were born on August 19, 1990.

Interestingly, Mathias is a striker while Florentin is a centre-back. Both played for the Guinean national team, where they were born.

3. Jurrien and Quinten Timber

The star of the moment. Jurrien will now move to England, leaving his twin brother Quinten in the Dutch League. While he played for Ajax, Quinten turned out for their rivals Feyenoord. They both played for the Ajax Academy before Quinten joined Utrecht in 2021.

Quinten mostly plays in midfield, unlike his defensive brother. He is also yet to receive a senior national team call-up but has already played for the junior levels of his country.

4. Jacob and Josh Murphy

Jacob Murphy played an integral part in Newcastle's run to fourth place last season and a return to the Champions League after almost 20 years out.

He has a twin brother, Josh Murphy, who currently plays for League One side Oxford United. They are both wingers and played together in Norwich's academy before going their separate ways. They have both featured for England's junior teams but have never received senior caps.

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5. Fabio and Rafael Da Silva

It is one thing to play with your sibling and it is a different thing altogether to play for the iconic Manchester United under the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson.

Fabio and Rafael Da Silva hit these heights in 2008 when the Red Devils signed them from Brazilian side Fluminese. So identical were they that Ferguson used the wedding ring on Fabio's finger to tell them apart.

Rafael was the more successful of the two at Manchester United, winning three Premier League titles and other domestic titles between 2008 and 2015 when he left to join Lyon. Fabio had a loan spell at Queens Park Rangers before joining Cardiff on a permanent basis.

Other twin sets include former Real Madrid and Napoli star, Jose Callejon, who, together with his twin brother, Juanmi Callejon, started out their careers in the Spanish capital. Former Turkish star, Hamit Altintop also has an identical twin, Halil Altintop.

Top footballers with African roots

Sports Brief also took a look at five other big footballers who have strong African roots, including Kylian Mbappe, who was born to a Cameroonian father and an Algerian-French mother.

The PSG star started his football career at AS Bondy's youth side in 2004, where his impressive showings saw him earn a move to AS Monaco and another to the French capital.

Mbappe then decided to play for his country of birth, France, and not Cameroon, with the 24-year-old surely not regretting becoming a FIFA World Cup winner with Les Bleus.