Samy Merheg

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In this Lebanese name, the father's name is Habib and the family name is Merheg.
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Merheg and the second or maternal family name is Enciso.
Samy Merheg
Personal information
Full name Samy Habib Merheg[1]
Birth name Samy Merheg Enciso[2]
Date of birth (2006-12-06) 6 December 2006 (age 19)
Place of birth Pereira, Colombia[1]
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[3]
Position Striker
Youth career
2014–2016 Salam Zgharta
2016–2017 Marcet
2017–2018 Sant Cugat (ca)
2018–2019 Cornellà
2021 VyV Mi Nuevo Tolima
2022 Rosario Central
2023–2024 Deportivo Pereira
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2024–2025 Deportivo Pereira 28 (5)
International career‡
2022 Lebanon U16 2 (1)
2024 Lebanon U20 1 (0)
2024– Lebanon 12 (7)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 22 October 2025
‡ National team caps and goals as of 26 November 2025

Samy Habib Merheg[note 1] (Arabic: سامي حبيب مرهج; born 6 December 2006) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker. Born in Colombia, he plays for the Lebanon national team.

Early life

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Merheg was born in Pereira, Risaralda Department, Colombia, to politician Habib Merheg (es) and Juliana Enciso, a politician and former volleyball player.[4][5] His maternal uncle is former professional footballer Leonardo Enciso,[5][6] and his paternal uncle is politician Juan Samy Merheg.[7]

Club career

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Youth

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Merheg began his football career in Lebanon at age seven, training with Salam Zgharta's academy[8] and their affiliated Koura Football Academy.[9] In 2016, he moved to Spain, where he played for Marcet[10] (including their partner club Tecnofútbol),[11] as well as Sant Cugat (ca) and Cornellà.[8]

After his time in Spain, Merheg moved to Colombia in 2019, playing for the Risaralda Department representative youth team until 2020.[12] In 2021, he joined VyV Mi Nuevo Tolima, scoring six goals in 10 matches for their under-15 side.[13] Although he signed with Argentine side Rosario Central in 2022,[4] registration issues due to his age prevented his participation in AFA-sanctioned competitions, prompting his return to Colombia.[6] There, he joined Deportivo Pereira in 2023,[12] where scored eight goals in five matches with the under-17s,[12][13] and five goals in 10 matches with the under-20s.[12]

Deportivo Pereira

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On 17 February 2024, aged 17 years and 73 days, Merheg made his professional debut with Deportivo Pereira, starting and playing 58 minutes in a 1–0 win against Santa Fe, before being replaced by Andrés Ibargüen.[5] He finished the 2024 season with five games in all competitions.[14]

On 15 April 2025, Merheg scored his first goal for Deportivo Pereira and provided an assist in a 2–0 win against Deportivo Cali.[15] He scored a brace on 27 August 2025, including a 90+5th minute winner, helping his side defeat Real Cundinamarca 4–3 in the Copa Colombia.[16] On 18 November 2025, after scoring eight goals and providing three assists in 34 appearances during the 2025 season, Merheg announced his departure from Deportivo Pereira, a decision that came amid the club's ongoing financial difficulties and contractual issues affecting the squad.[17]

International career

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Born in Colombia, Merheg was eligible to represent both Colombia and Lebanon at the international level, due to his father having both parents from Lebanon.[18]

Merheg played for the Lebanon under-16 team in two friendly matches against Malta in November 2022,[19] scoring in the second game on 10 November.[20] In July 2024, he was called up to the Colombia under-20 team for a micro-cycle.[21] The following month he was called up to the Lebanon under-20 team for the first time.[22] He made his debut in 2025 AFC U-20 Asian Cup qualification, playing 90 minutes in a 3–2 loss to the United Arab Emirates.[23]

Merheg received his first call-up to the Lebanon national team on 5 November 2024 for friendly matches against Thailand and Myanmar.[24] He made his international debut on 14 November 2024 at the age of 17 years and 344 days, coming on as an 82nd-minute substitute in a 0–0 draw against Thailand.[25] Five days later, he scored his first international goals with a brace in a 3–2 victory over Myanmar.[26] On 20 March 2025, Merheg added another brace in a 4–0 friendly win against Timor-Leste, taking his goal tally to five in his first five appearances for Lebanon.[27] He continued his scoring form in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, netting his sixth goal in six games during a 5–0 win over Brunei five days later.[28]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 22 October 2025[14]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Copa Colombia Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Deportivo Pereira 2024 Categoría Primera A 3 0 2 0 5 0
2025 Categoría Primera A 25 5 4 3 29 8
Total 28 5 6 3 34 8
Career total 28 5 6 3 34 8

International

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As of match played 26 November 2025[29]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Lebanon 2024 4 3
2025 8 4
Total 12 7
Scores and results list Lebanon's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Merheg goal.
List of international goals scored by Samy Merheg
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 19 November 2024 Thuwunna Stadium, Yangon, Myanmar Error creating thumbnail:  Myanmar 2–2 3–2 Friendly
2 3–2
3 12 December 2024 Hamad bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha, Qatar File:Flag of Kuwait.svg Kuwait 2–1 2–1 Friendly
4 20 March 2025 Al-Khor SC Stadium, Al Khor, Qatar File:Flag of East Timor.svg Timor-Leste 3–0 4–0 Friendly
5 4–0
6 25 March 2025 Saoud bin Abdulrahman Stadium, Al-Wakrah, Qatar File:Flag of Brunei.svg Brunei 2–0 5–0 2027 Asian Cup qualification
7 18 November 2025 Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei File:Flag of Brunei.svg Brunei 2–0 3–0 2027 Asian Cup qualification

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ In Colombia, his full name is Samy Merheg Enciso.

References

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  1. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  2. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  3. ^ Samy Merheg at WorldFootball.netLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
  4. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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  13. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  14. ^ a b Samy Merheg at Soccerway. Retrieved 10 February 2025.Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
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  • Samy Merheg at National-Football-Teams.comLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
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