At Everton, Fellaini was the club's Young Player of the Season for 2008–09, when the club were losing finalists in theFA Cup. After five years at Everton, he transferred toManchester United in a deal worth £27.5 million in September 2013. Fellaini spent over five years at Manchester United, helping the club win four trophies including theFA Cup,EFL Cup andUEFA Europa League. After more than a decade in England in total, Fellaini joinedChinese Super League clubShandong Taishan in February 2019.
A full international for theBelgium national team from 2007 until his international retirement in March 2019, Fellaini amassed 87 caps and 18 goals for Belgium. He played for the team at the2008 Olympics, the2014 World Cup,Euro 2016, and the2018 World Cup, helping Belgium to third place in the latter tournament.
Fellaini was born toMoroccan parents fromTangier and brought up inBrussels.[4] His father, Abdellatif, was a former goalkeeper forRaja Casablanca andHassania Agadir who signed forRacing Mechelen but was unable to play as his former Moroccan club refused to release his paperwork. Instead of returning home, he opted to become a bus driver forSTIB.[5] He would later take early retirement to oversee his son's career.[6] Fellaini isMuslim.[7]
Born inEtterbeek, Brussels, Fellaini began playing football at the age of 7 forAnderlecht. He also competed inathletics, with the10,000 metres being his preferred event.[8] As a child he would run to school while his classmates used to make their daily journey by bus or car.[9] However, Fellaini's father Abdellatif, who was a professional footballer himself, guided his son towards football.[8] In his first season at Anderlecht's Academy, he scored 26 goals and in his second he scored 37. He was at Anderlecht's academy until the age of 10 when he joinedMons, due to his father getting a new job in the city.[8] Three years later, he joinedR. Francs Borains before leaving the club when he signed forSporting Charleroi. At 17, he signed his first permanent contract withStandard Liège. Between 2006 and 2008, he made 84 appearances for the club, scoring 11 times.[10] He is known for his heading ability and stamina, which made him one of the bestbox-to-box midfielders in theBelgian First Division and resulted in him winning theEbony Shoe in 2008,[11] an award given to the best player of the season of African descent.
After rejecting the advances ofManchester United[12] and following reported interest fromAston Villa,[13]Real Madrid,Tottenham Hotspur andBayern Munich,[14] Fellaini signed forEverton in September 2008 on a five-year deal from Standard Liège for an initial transfer fee of £15 million (at the time a record for a Belgian player andclub record for Everton).[15][16] He made his Everton debut in a 3–2 away victory atStoke City on 14 September 2008,[17] and scored his first goal for the team againstNewcastle United in a 2–2 home draw on 5 October 2008.[18] Fellaini went on to score 9 goals in his first season.During his debut season he was booked 10 times in his first 17 games and avoided a lengthy suspension by attending a personal hearing with England's chief referee,Keith Hackett, where he vowed to improve his behaviour. He picked up three further bookings in 16 games following the meeting, his total the highest of allPremier League players that season.[8]At the end of the 2008–09 season he was named Everton's Young Player of the Season.[19]
Fellaini warming up before a match againstFulham in 2009
In England he has become well known for his largeafro hairstyle, becoming a fan favourite with Everton fans regularly sporting Afro wigs as a homage to Fellaini.[8] Fellaini was deployed as asecond striker during the2008–09 season, when Everton had all of their forwards out injured, usually playing behind another midfielder being used as an attacker,Tim Cahill.[20] Later Fellaini reverted to play in his least favourite defensive midfield area. His performances in late 2009 and early 2010 became so impressive thatDavid Moyes labelled him "as good as anyone in the league", and he re-iterated this after Fellaini wonMan of the Match againstManchester City on 16 January.[21][22] Fellaini was stretchered off in the 34th minute of theMerseyside derby on 6 February after a two-footed tackle bySotirios Kyrgiakos, ruling him out for the rest of the 2009–10 season. Kyrgiakos was sent off as a result of Fellaini's injury.[21]
Fellaini suffered an ACL injury in an FA Cup replay victory against Chelsea in February 2011 and although he was able to play in a 2–0 win againstSunderland a week later, the injury caused him to miss the remainder of the 2010–11 season.[23] He did not play a competitive match until August 2011, when he appeared as a substitute in a 1–0 loss toQueens Park Rangers atGoodison Park and played the full match in the very next fixture, as Everton beatSheffield United 3–1 in theLeague Cup.[24] In November 2011, he signed a new five-year contract with the club.[25] He finished the season having won the most tackles, aerial duels and made more passes than anyone else at the club. He won the second highest number of tackles in theleague and won possession of the ball 190 times, the most out of any player.[26]
In the opening game of the2012–13 Premier League season against Manchester United, Fellaini received plaudits for his outstanding performance, as he scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory.[27] He continued the season in great form with goals against Arsenal, Manchester City, Sunderland and Fulham amongst others. Fellaini was subsequently awarded Premier League Player of the Month for November 2012.
Fellaini was banned for three matches by the Football Association on 17 December 2012 after headbuttingRyan Shawcross during a game against Stoke City, an incident missed by the match officials at the time.[28] The same month he was ranked as number 60 in "The 100 Best Footballers in the World" byThe Guardian.[29][30]
On 2 September 2013, Fellaini signed a four-year contract, with the option of extension of another season, reuniting with former managerDavid Moyes at Manchester United in a £27.5 million, deadline day deal,[31] despite the fact that he had a lower buyout clause earlier in the transfer window. He made his debut for the club on 14 September, in a 2–0 home win againstCrystal Palace, coming on as a 62nd-minute substitute forAnderson.[32] He made his full debut on 17 September, starting in a 4–2 win againstBayer Leverkusen in theUEFA Champions League.[33] On 5 November, Fellaini received his firstred card for Manchester United in a match againstReal Sociedad in thegroup stage of the Champions League.[34]
In April 2014, Fellaini was named as one of the "10 Worst Buys of thePremier League season" byThe Daily Telegraph.[35] He made only fifteen league starts throughout the season, in contrast to thirty one starts he made in the previous season while atEverton.[36]
In his first pre-season game of2014–15, Fellaini came off the substitutes bench to score his first Manchester United goal in injury time, giving the club a 2–1 win overValencia inLouis van Gaal's first game at Old Trafford as manager.[37]
On 20 October 2014, he scored his first competitive goal for Manchester United in a 2–2 draw in thePremier League againstWest Bromwich Albion two minutes after coming on as a half time substitute.[38] He was given his first start of the season by Van Gaal in the following match againstChelsea, and helped United earn a point against the league leaders. Fellaini covered 12.17 kilometres in the match, the most by any United player, and made 70 high-intensity runs, more than anyone else on the pitch. During second half stoppage time, he contributed to United's goal when his header was saved byThibaut Courtois and ultimately rebounded in byRobin van Persie.[39] On 2 December, Fellaini scored his first competitive home goal for Manchester United in a 2–1 defeat of Stoke City.[40]
Fellaini's third goal of the season came in a 2–0 away win at Queens Park Rangers on 17 January 2015.[41] On 15 March 2015, he scored his fourth goal of the season and assisted the second goal forMichael Carrick in a home game against Tottenham in which United won 3–0 and he was voted Man of the Match.[42] On 12 April, he scored the second goal for Manchester United in a 4–2 win in theManchester derby.[43] On 9 May, he scored the winner, his seventh of the season, for Manchester United in a 2–1 win overCrystal Palace.[44] On 24 May, Fellaini was sent off in Manchester United's final Premier League fixture of the season, a 0–0 draw withHull City at theKC Stadium, 18 minutes after appearing as a substitute.[45]
On 18 August, his first match for the club in the2015–16 season, Fellaini scored the third goal in a 3–1 home victory overClub Brugge in the first leg of theChampions League play-offs.[46] On 25 August 2015, Louis van Gaal stated that Fellaini would feature more as a striker.[47] After struggling to establish himself as a striker in the next few games, he admitted in an interview withBleacher Report: "When the manager asks me to play somewhere, I play there. But my best position is midfield."[48]
Fellaini scored the first goal in a 2–1 win againstEverton in theFA Cup semi-final atWembley Stadium on 23 April 2016.[49] On 5 May, Fellaini was handed a 3-match suspension by theFA for throwing an elbow atLeicester City'sRobert Huth. Huth was handed the same punishment for tugging at Fellaini's hair during the altercation.[50] He played the full 120 minutes as Manchester United beatCrystal Palace 2–1 in extra time in the2016 FA Cup final.[51] He also assistedJuan Mata's equaliser in the final.
On 7 August 2016, Fellaini played the full 90 minutes in United's 2–1Community Shield victory over Leicester City.[52] On 4 December, he made his 100th appearance for United against his former club Everton and conceded apenalty just a few minutes after coming on as an 85th-minute substitute.Leighton Baines successfully converted the spot kick in the 89th minute to secure a late equaliser for theToffees in a match that finished 1–1.[53] Due toJosé Mourinho's preference forAnder Herrera alongsidePaul Pogba in central midfield, Fellaini's appearances for Manchester United had become limited to coming off the bench; however, on 11 January – the day after he scored the second goal in Manchester United's 2–0 win overHull City in the first leg of their2016–17 EFL Cup semi-final – Manchester United activated a one-year extension clause in Fellaini's contract, keeping him at the club until the end of the 2017–18 season.[54] The Belgian featured for the entirety of United's2017 UEFA Europa League Final victory against Dutch clubAjax.[55]
Fellaini's first goal of the2017–18 season came against Leicester City, in a 2–0 win on 26 August 2017.[56] He then scored a header againstBasel, helping United win the Champions League group stage game 3–0 on 12 September.[57] On 30 September, Fellaini scored a brace in a 4–0 win againstCrystal Palace, upping his goal tally to four goals in eight games.[58] After the win, José Mourinho praised his performances, saying "He had to be a strong character. He is a fighter, a guy with lots of pride and I am really pleased I helped him reach this level and change the perception the fans have now. I'm really happy for him."[59] He signed a new two-year contract at the end of the campaign.[60]
Fellaini made 19 appearances for Manchester United in the first half of the 2018–19 season, scoring 90th-minute goals against bothDerby County in theEFL Cup[61] andYoung Boys in theUEFA Champions League.[62] However, after the dismissal of head coachJosé Mourinho, Fellaini found opportunities limited and he played in just two of nine possible matches under caretaker managerOle Gunnar Solskjær, both as a substitute.
At the end of January 2019, Fellaini agreed a contract with Chinese clubShandong Luneng and was officially transferred on 1 February 2019, concluding his five-and-a-half year spell with Manchester United.[63]
He played in this club for five years. On 3 November 2023, Fellaini announced that he would leave the club at the end of the season.[64] He played his last match for the club at the2023 Chinese FA Cup final againstShanghai Shenhua.[65][66]
Fellaini before an international friendly against theUnited States in 2013
Fellaini was eligible to play for eitherBelgium orMorocco. He chose to represent Belgium, from youth level upwards. He represented the under-23 team at the2008 Olympics, when they finished in fourth place, losing toBrazil in the bronze medal match.[68] His senior team debut was made in February 2007,[36] and his first goal for the senior team came in a 2–1 defeat againstPortugal aUEFA Euro 2008 qualification match.[69]
Fellaini made seven appearances in Belgium's2014 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign, scoring once, as Belgium reached the finals for the first time since2002.[70] On 4 June 2014, Fellaini was selected as part of Belgium's 23-man squad for the2014 World Cup.[71] On 17 June, in Belgium's opening match againstAlgeria, Fellaini came on as a second-half substitute and scored the Red Devils' equalising goal in a 2–1 win.[72] He was then named in the starting line-up for the second match againstRussia on 22 June[73] and went on to play every minute ofles Diables Rouges' run to the quarter-finals, where they were defeated 1–0 byArgentina inBrasília.[74]
Duringqualification forUEFA Euro 2016, Fellaini scored two goals in Belgium's 5–0 defeat ofCyprus[75] and the winner in a 1–0 away victory inIsrael.[76] Following these goals, on 7 June 2015, he reached five in his last three internationals by scoring the opening two goals in a 4–3 friendly win overFrance at theStade de France.[77] On 3 September 2015, he scored his sixth goal in four international appearances againstBosnia and Herzegovina.[78]
At the2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, Fellaini scored the equalising goal after Japan had gone 2–0 up in a round of 16 match that saw Belgium win 3–2.[79] On 7 March 2019, Fellaini announced his retirement from international football. He earned a total of 87 caps and scored 18 goals for Belgium between 2007 and 2018.[80]
A versatile player,[81] Fellaini was capable of playing in several positions.[82] He often played in adefensive midfield role, or in thecentre as abox-to-box midfielder,[83] but was also capable of playing in a moreadvanced creative role asplaymaker,[84] or even assecond striker orcentre-forward during his time underDavid Moyes at Everton;[85] he was also deployed as acentre-back orout wide in his youth.[86] Fellaini was known for his tackling and work-rate, despite his lack of pace; he was also known for his eye for goal frommidfield and ability to get forward, and was able to shoot and pass well with either foot, despite often favouring simple solutions when in possession.[81][87][88][89][90][91] While not the most naturally technically gifted player, he was also known for his hold-up play and ability to control the ball well with his chest.[87] Due to his height and physique, he was known in particular for his ability in the air and penchant for scoring headers,[81] which led managerLouis van Gaal to deploy him as a deep-lyingtarget man, or even as astrikerup-front, in a 4–3–3 formation on occasion during their time together at Manchester United, which suited the team'slong ball tactics.[83][92][93]
^"Marouane Fellaini".guardian.touch-line.com. Guardian News and Media. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved30 December 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
.jpg)
