 El-Arabi in 2010 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1987-02-03)3 February 1987 (age 39) | ||
| Place of birth | Caen, France | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Nantes | ||
| Number | 19 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2001–2002 | Caen | ||
| 2002–2004 | SC Hérouville Football | ||
| 2004–2007 | USON Mondeville | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2007–2009 | Caen B | 48 | (13) |
| 2008–2011 | Caen | 75 | (28) |
| 2011–2012 | Al-Hilal | 21 | (12) |
| 2012–2016 | Granada | 130 | (44) |
| 2016–2019 | Al-Duhail | 60 | (76) |
| 2019–2024 | Olympiacos | 148 | (68) |
| 2024–2025 | APOEL | 31 | (13) |
| 2025– | Nantes | 20 | (3) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2010–2021 | Morocco | 47 | (16) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:03, 13 February 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 29 July 2024 | |||
Youssef El-Arabi (Arabic:يُوسُف الْعَرَبِيّ; born 3 February 1987) is a professionalfootballer who plays as aforward forLigue 1 clubNantes.
He began his career with hometown clubCaen inLigue 1, making his debut in 2008.[1] After a season in Saudi Arabia withAl Hilal he signed forLa Liga clubGranada for a club record €5 million in 2012. He scored 45 goals in 134 official games before leaving forAl-Duhail in 2016. In three years in theQatar Stars League, he was top scorer twice, and totalled 107 goals in 95 games across all competitions before returning to Europe with Olympiacos.[2]
Born in France, El-Arabi chose to representMorocco at international level, making his debut in 2010. He represented them at threeAfrica Cup of Nations tournaments.
On 20 December 2008, El-Arabi made his debut forCaen, coming on as a substitute in the 76th minute againstLyon in Ligue 1. He played 2 more games that season (coming on in both as a substitute), and scored no goals (2008–09). The following season (2009–10) saw El-Arabi score 11 goals in 34 games (he came on in 11 of these games as a substitute) for Caen, as well as claiming eight assists, in Ligue 2. This season (2010–11) has seen El-Arabi score 17 goals in 38 games for Caen, as well as claiming five assists, in Ligue 1. After rejecting bids fromSevilla FC andGenoa C.F.C, he eventually signed forAl-Hilal FC in July 2011 on a four-year contract.
On 19 July 2012, El-Arabi returned to Europe, signing a five-year contract forLa Liga clubGranada for a club record €5 million fee.[3] He made his debut on 20 August, starting as the season began with a 1–0 loss atRayo Vallecano. His first goal was scored on 7 October, a penalty to open a 2–1 win atMallorca,[4] and his total of eight goals in 31 games helped his side avoid relegation.
He scored 12 times in his second season at theEstadio Nuevo Los Carmenes, including his first La Liga hat-trick, all three goals in a 3–1 win overrivalsMálaga on 8 November 2013.[5] At the end of the season, he was nominated for the Best African player at theLFP Awards, losing out to teammateYacine Brahimi.[6]
On 4 October 2014, El-Arabi scored in the first minute against Málaga, albeit in a 2–1 away loss.[7] He put the side ahead with a penalty atLevante the following 23 February but was later sent off for scrapping withIván Ramis in a loss by the same score.[8] Granada avoided relegation on goal difference.
In his final season at Granada, El-Arabi scored 17 times in 38 games, including a hat-trick in a 5–1 win over Levante on 21 April 2016.[9]
On 18 July 2016, El-Arabi signed forLekhwiya SC of theQatar Stars League.[10] He made his debut on 17 September, scoring the opening goal of a 4–0 home win overMuaither. His 24 goals in 18 games made him joint top scorer for the season alongsideAl Sadd'sBaghdad Bounedjah, while Lekhwiya won the title.
On 11 December 2017, El-Arabi scored six goals in one match for the renamed Al-Duhail in an 8–0 QSL Cup group stage win atAl-Khor.[11] His team retained their league title, and he was again top scorer, with 26 goals in 20 games, one more than his teammateYoussef Msakni.[12]
On 6 July 2019, El-Arabi signed a three-year contract with Greek sideOlympiacos, returning to Europe after three years in Qatar.[13] He made hisSuper League Greece debut on 24 August, scoring the only goal of a home win overAsteras Tripolis through a 7th-minute penalty.[14] Three days later, he scored both goals of a 2–1 win atFC Krasnodar in a Champions League play-off second leg match, putting thePiraeus-based team through 6–1 on aggregate.[15]
El-Arabi scored his firstChampions League goal on 22 October 2019 in a 2–3 loss againstBayern Munich.[16] On 11 December 2019, El Arabi scored the only goal with a late penalty againstRed Star Belgrade in their finalChampions League Group B game, to book a place in theEuropa League at the expense of the Serbians.[17][18] The following 12 January 2020, he scored a hat-trick in a 4–0 away win overLamia.[19]
On 27 February 2020, Olympiacos played their second leg of the Round of 32 at theEmirates Stadium, and El-Arabi scored a goal at the 119th minute of extra time to knockArsenal out of theUEFA Europa League onaway goals.[20] He scored on 28 June as they won 2–1 atAEK Athens to secure a 45th league title, the first in three years.[21]
In 2020–21, El-Arabi was top scorer with 22 goals as Olympiacos retained the title.[22]On 4 November 2021, in a 2–1 Europa League lossUEFA Europa League toEintracht Frankfurt, he surpassedPredrag Đorđević andKostas Mitroglou as the club's top European scorer with 16 goals, doing so in 33 games.[23]On 15 December, he scored a hat trick in a 3–0 home win againstAtromitos F.C. to reach 50 goals in 81 league appearances; his fourth hat-trick put him equal withGiovanni, having done so in fewer games than the Brazilian's 111.[24][25][26]
El Arabi was part of Olympiacos'sUEFA Conference League league triumph in the 2023–24 season.[27][28]
After his contract expired on 1 July 2024 with Olympiacos, El-Arabi joinedCypriot First Division clubAPOEL.[29][30]
On 18 July 2025, El-Arabi joinedLigue 1 clubNantes.[31][32]
On 20 September 2025, he scored his first goal for the club in a 2-2 draw withRennes inLigue 1, becoming at 38 years 7 months and 17 days Nantes’ oldest goalscorer ever.[33]
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On 5 September 2010, El-Arabi made his debut for theMorocco national football team, coming on as a substitute in the 65th minute forMounir El-Hamdaoui against theCentral African Republic. He followed this up with games againstTanzania andNorthern Ireland, coming on as a substitute in both games.
ManagerEric Gerets named El-Arabi among the 23 players for the2012 Africa Cup of Nations, where he started and played as a substitute for one game each of a group-stage exit.[34] On 13 October that year, he scored and provided an assist in a 4–0 home win overMozambique as the Atlas Lions overturned a first-leg deficit to reach the2013 edition;[35] in another group exit in South Africa, he scored the equaliser in a draw withCape Verde.[36]
On 29 March 2016, El-Arabi scored both goals in a 2–0 win over the same opponents at theStade de Marrakech to qualify for the2017 Africa Cup of Nations.[37]Hervé Renard called him up for the finals in Gabon, where he made only an 11-minute substitute appearance in a run to the quarter-finals.[38] He was a noted omission from the French manager's squad for the2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[39]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Caen B | 2007–08 | Championnat National 2 | 23 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 23 | 1 | ||||
| 2008–09 | Championnat National 2 | 25 | 12 | – | – | – | – | 25 | 12 | |||||
| Total | 48 | 13 | – | – | – | – | 48 | 13 | ||||||
| Caen | 2008–09 | Ligue 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 3 | 0 | |||
| 2009–10 | Ligue 2 | 34 | 11 | 3 | 2 | – | – | – | 37 | 13 | ||||
| 2010–11 | Ligue 1 | 38 | 17 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 39 | 17 | ||||
| Total | 75 | 28 | 4 | 2 | – | – | – | 79 | 30 | |||||
| Al-Hilal | 2011–12 | Saudi Pro League | 21 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6[c] | 4 | – | 32 | 16 | |
| Granada | 2012–13 | La Liga | 31 | 8 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 32 | 8 | |||
| 2013–14 | La Liga | 36 | 12 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 36 | 12 | ||||
| 2014–15 | La Liga | 28 | 8 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 28 | 8 | ||||
| 2015–16 | La Liga | 35 | 16 | 3 | 1 | – | – | – | 38 | 17 | ||||
| Total | 130 | 44 | 4 | 1 | – | – | – | 134 | 45 | |||||
| Al Duhail | 2016–17 | Qatar Stars League | 18 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4[c] | 3 | – | 23 | 28 | |
| 2017–18 | Qatar Stars League | 20 | 26 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 9[c] | 9 | – | 37 | 45 | ||
| 2018–19 | Qatar Stars League | 22 | 26 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 6[c] | 4 | – | 35 | 34 | ||
| Total | 60 | 76 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 16 | – | 95 | 107 | |||
| Olympiacos | 2019–20 | Super League Greece | 34 | 20 | 4 | 0 | – | 13[d] | 7 | – | 51 | 27 | ||
| 2020–21 | Super League Greece | 33 | 22 | 5 | 2 | – | 11[e] | 4 | – | 49 | 28 | |||
| 2021–22 | Super League Greece | 34 | 16 | 4 | 2 | – | 13[f] | 5 | – | 51 | 23 | |||
| 2022–23 | Super League Greece | 34 | 6 | 6 | 2 | – | 9 | 2 | – | 49 | 10 | |||
| 2023–24 | Super League Greece | 13 | 4 | 0 | 0 | – | 12[g] | 2 | – | 25 | 6 | |||
| Total | 148 | 68 | 19 | 6 | – | 58 | 20 | – | 225 | 94 | ||||
| Olympiacos B | 2023–24 | Super League Greece 2 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 2 | 1 | ||||
| APOEL | 2024–25 | Cypriot First Division | 27 | 13 | 0 | 0 | – | 11[h] | 1 | 1[i] | 0 | 39 | 14 | |
| Nantes | 2025–26 | Ligue 1 | 20 | 3 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | 22 | 4 | |||
| Career total | 531 | 258 | 39 | 15 | 10 | 10 | 93 | 41 | 1 | 0 | 676 | 324 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morocco | 2010 | 3 | 0 |
| 2011 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2012 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2013 | 9 | 4 | |
| 2014 | 5 | 3 | |
| 2015 | 4 | 2 | |
| 2016 | 5 | 3 | |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 3 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 47 | 16 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 10 August 2011 | Stade Demba Diop,Dakar, Senegal |  Senegal | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 2. | 29 February 2012 | Stade de Marrakech,Marrakesh, Morocco |  Burkina Faso | 2–0 | 2–0 | |
| 3. | 13 October 2012 |  Mozambique | 3–0 | 4–0 | 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | |
| 4. | 23 January 2013 | Moses Mabhida Stadium,Durban, South Africa |  Cape Verde | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2013 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 5. | 24 March 2013 | Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium,Dar es Salaam, Tanzania |  Tanzania | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 6. | 8 June 2013 | Stade de Marrakech, Marrakesh, Morocco | 2–0 | 2–1 | ||
| 7. | 7 September 2013 | Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny,Abidjan, Ivory Coast |  Ivory Coast | 1–0 | 1–1 | |
| 8. | 5 March 2014 | Stade de Marrakech, Marrakesh, Morocco |  Gabon | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 9. | 23 May 2014 | Estádio de São Luís,Faro, Portugal | Mozambique | 2–0 | 4–0 | |
| 10. | 4–0 | |||||
| 11. | 5 September 2015 | Estádio Nacional 12 de Julho,Sao Tomé, Sao Tomé & Principé |  São Tomé and Príncipe | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 12. | 12 November 2015 | Stade Adrar,Agadir, Morocco |  Equatorial Guinea | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 13. | 26 March 2016 | Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde,Praia, Cape Verde | Cape Verde | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 14. | 29 March 2016 | Stade de Marrakech, Marrakech, Morocco | 1–0 | 2–0 | ||
| 15. | 2–0 | |||||
| 16. | 9 October 2020 | Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium,Rabat, Morocco | Senegal | 3–0 | 3–1 | Friendly |
Caen
Al Hilal
Al Duhail
Olympiacos
APOEL
Individual
Records
Morocco squads | |||||||||||||||||||
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