Serge Gnabry was born in Stuttgart, Germany to an Ivorian (Cote d’Ivoire) father and a German mother and grew up in a football loving environment.
Though his family heritage is of a mixed race, he grew up fully integrated into the German culture and did his education within the German schooling system.
Back in 2020, when speaking for The Players’ Tribune, Gnabry had expressed a very emotional quote:
“You’re 15 and you’re still asking your parents for allowance money. Then you’re 17 or 18 and you’re making more money than your whole family. Imagine that. You just can’t cope with it. I remember when I broke into the first team, I started spending my money on so much unnecessary stuff. The £600 toiletry bag. The sparkly Christian Louboutins from back in the day. The Rolex”.
“That’s the one that broke my parents. That’s what made them sit me down for a chat. They could feel something coming. I literally remember my mum saying, “Serge, you know … this might not be forever. You can’t be spending money like this. You need to stay grounded, because everyone falls down at some point.”
“Literally, a few weeks after that conversation, I went down. Everything kind of fell apart. I injured my knee, and I couldn’t do anything for about eight months. Time was just frozen. When I finally got back to the pitch, I couldn’t get into the squad. All of a sudden, I was going out on loan at West Brom”.
“It was like my mum saw the future“. [The Players’ Tribune]
Gnabry’s mother, Birgit Gnabry is from the Stuttgart region itself, where Serge was born and raised.
She has been a big influence in his (Serge’s) life.
She provided Serge with emotional, balanced side of his upbringing.
His mother supported his football career, but simultaneously also emphasised education, humility and a strong cultural foundation.
Serge has claimed in his interviews that his mother has had a strong influence on him in terms of his calm personality and discipline.
Although unverified reports, but it is said that his mother is known to have worked in local German sectors around Stuttgart.
Meanwhile his father, Jean-Hermann Gnabry had moved to Germany from Ivory Coast or Cote d’Ivoire at a young age. He had come primarily for education and work opportunities, which was a common pathway for many West Africans moving into Europe in the 1980s and 1990s.
Gnabry’s father used to work as a “Buchbinder” (book binder) in a small town called Weissach near Stuttgart itself.
He was a big part of Serge’s sporting discipline.
His father was also quite strict about his academics, fitness, and training, which helped him stay focused from a young age.
He was quite involved in Serge’s early football training, driving him to practise and making sure he stayed committed.
Serge has acknowledged that growing up he has had roots in both cultures, German culture (because he grew up in Stuttgart) and Ivorian/African culture (through his father’s heritage).
He has also spoken in interviews about being grateful for his father’s support. His father has played a significant role in his personal, but also professional development as a player.
“The most important person in my development is my father, who trained me from an early age, who supported me, on and off the pitch”.
“I think I’ve already mentioned in countless interviews that, without my dad, I probably would not be where I am today. Many people have talent but, unfortunately, they simply don’t have the support they need. I had the 100 percent backing of my parents, especially of my father, of course, who was more interested in football [than the others]. And I had the whole of my family living in Stuttgart behind me”. [Common Goal]
Gnabry started out his career at TSV Weissach’s academy and then went to TSV Ditzingen and GSV Hemmingen, where he played in more organised youth leagues.
His skills rapidly became clear, and VfB Stuttgart, the Bundesliga (first tier) club in Stuttgart, signed him up for their junior system.
Gnabry progressed through the youth ranks at Stuttgart to become a dynamic winger who was quick, technical, and sharp in tight spaces.
Then, Arsenal scouted Gnabry while he was still a teenager at Stuttgart.
Arsene Wenger and the Arsenal scouting network had a long history of pursuing technically brilliant European youth at the time, and Gnabry perfectly matched that profile.
Gnabry was only 16 years old when he took the brave choice to leave Germany and join Arsenal’s development system in England in 2011.
At first, Stuttgart wanted to keep him, but Arsenal paid them about £100,000 to let him go.
Gnabry adapted quickly to English football, even though it was far more physical compared to Germany.
He decided to leave Arsenal in 2016, joining Werder Bremen, with Bayern Munich later triggering a clause eventually to bring him to Munich and has been playing for them ever since.
Serge Gnabry has often mentioned that he would not have become a professional footballer without his parents’ sacrifice.
This combination of strictness from his father and emotional balance from his mother formed the confident, hardworking personality he has carried with himself till today.
