Henrikh Mkhitaryan: French Beginnings and a Father’s Legacy

When Henrikh Mkhitaryan gave a recent post-match interview in fluent French after Inter Milan’s 3-3 Champions League semi-final draw with Barcelona, viewers on Canal+ were struck not just by the eloquence of the 36-year-old, but by the reminder: this French didn’t come from textbooks in Yerevan—it came from his childhood in Valence.

Born in the Armenian capital in 1989, Mkhitaryan spent some of his earliest and most formative years in the south-east of France. His father, Hamlet Mkhitaryan, had just joined ASOA Valence that same year, bringing with him the reputation of having once finished as the second-best scorer in the Soviet Top League with Ararat Yerevan.

A gifted striker with electric pace, Hamlet made a profound impact in the Drôme region. In a city that counted some 10,000 members of the Armenian diaspora, he was not just a player, but a cultural figure—firing ASOA Valence from the fourth tier to Ligue 2 BKT with goals, flair, and even traditional Armenian dances during nights of promotion celebration at the Stade Georges-Pompidou.

“He was very quick, lively, and physically exceptional,” recalls Pierre Ferrazzi, then coach of Valence and the man who spotted Hamlet during a friendly against Kotayk Abovian. “I told the president, ‘If you can sign this guy, we might make it to Division 2.’ That same night, the president called me at 1 a.m. and said: ‘He’s agreed.’”

Off the pitch, the youngest Mkhitaryan, Henrikh, was ever-present. The bond with his father was so strong that Hamlet reportedly had to pretend he was going to the supermarket in order to slip off to training without his young son clinging to him. On Sunday mornings, Ferrazzi ran casual training sessions for kids and first-team players alike. Henrikh, aged just four or five, was there every time.

“He even came to my house a few times,” Ferrazzi remembers. “But his father was strict—he’d have to ask for permission even to go into the pool.”

A chapter ends in heartbreak

But this chapter in the family’s French story would end in heartbreak. After five seasons in Valence, Hamlet signed for Ararat Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, but played very little. Behind the scenes, he had been suffering from debilitating headaches—symptoms of what was later diagnosed as a brain tumour.

Following three operations and a 16-month battle, Hamlet passed away in Yerevan in 1996 at the age of just 33. Henrikh was six.

In the face of unimaginable grief, his mother Marina became “both my mother and my father,” as Henrikh would later say. She worked for the Armenian Football Federation, while Henrikh’s older sister Monica, who studied in Lyon, became a personal assistant to Michel Platini at UEFA. The entire family remained tied to the game, and France never forgot them. In 2013, during a friendly between Armenia and Luxembourg in Valence, the Mkhitaryans were invited back—a homecoming that carried deep emotional weight.

Henrikh’s path to the top was not linear. Despite his early years in France and speaking seven languages (including French), he failed to convince Marseille, Lyon, or Lille’s academies. But the passion never dimmed.

He admitted to watching the iconic French documentary Les Yeux dans les Bleus—a behind-the-scenes look at France’s 1998 World Cup triumph—“more than thirty times”, captivated by the calm brilliance of his idol, Zinédine Zidane.

Today, Mkhitaryan has won league titles in Ukraine, Germany, and Italy, worn the shirt of Manchester United and Arsenal, and played in a Europa League final. But when he speaks of his career, his gaze returns upward, and to the man who first brought football into his life.

“I hope he’s proud when he looks at me from above,” Henrikh has said. “Because I’ve done everything for that.”

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