 Benatia playing forMorocco at the2018 FIFA World Cup | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Medhi Amine El Mouttaqi Benatia[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1987-04-17)17 April 1987 (age 38) | ||
| Place of birth | Courcouronnes, France | ||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Marseille (sporting director) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2000–2002 | Clairefontaine | ||
| 2002–2003 | Guingamp | ||
| 2003–2006 | Marseille | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2006–2008 | Marseille | 0 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | →Tours (loan) | 29 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | →Lorient (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2008–2010 | Clermont | 57 | (2) |
| 2010–2013 | Udinese | 80 | (6) |
| 2013–2014 | Roma | 33 | (5) |
| 2014–2017 | Bayern Munich | 29 | (2) |
| 2016–2017 | →Juventus (loan) | 12 | (1) |
| 2017–2019 | Juventus | 28 | (2) |
| 2019–2021 | Al-Duhail | 38 | (1) |
| 2021 | Fatih Karagümrük | 6 | (0) |
| Total | 312 | (19) | |
| International career | |||
| 2005 | France U18 | 1 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | Morocco U20 | 4 | (0) |
| 2008–2019 | Morocco | 66 | (2) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2023–2026 | Marseille (sporting director) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Medhi Amine El Mouttaqi Benatia[note 1] (Arabic:المهدي أمين المتقي بن عطية;French pronunciation:[mɛdibɛnatia]; born 17 April 1987) is a former professionalfootballer who played as acentre-back, who is currently thesporting director ofLigue 1 clubMarseille.[3] Benatia is well known for his tenures throughout France, Italy, and Germany, he representedMorocco at the international level, making 66 international appearances, and most notablycaptained them to their firstWorld Cup in twenty years.
Benatia began his career atMarseille, being loaned out toTours andLorient before joiningClermont in 2008. Two years later he joinedUdinese, spending three seasons there before transferring toRoma. After helping the side finish asSerie A runners-up in his only campaign there, Benatia was signed byBayern Munich for €26 million, winning theBundesliga in both of his seasons at the club. In 2016 he moved toJuventus, initially on loan, and was later signed permanently by the club in 2017; he won three league titles with the side, and helped them reach theChampions League final in2017. Following stints withAl-Duhail in Qatar andFatih Karagümrük in Turkey, Benatia retired from professional football in 2021.
Born and raised in France, Benatia initially represented his birth nation atunder-18 level. He then chose to represent his father's Morocco atunder-20 level, making his senior international debut in 2008. Benatia represented Morocco at fourAfrica Cup of Nations tournaments and the2018 FIFA World Cup. In 2019, Benatia announced his retirement from international football, having earned 66caps.[4]
Benatia was born inCourcouronnes, France, to aMoroccan father and anAlgerian mother.[5][6]
Benatia joinedMarseille in 2003, and signed his first professional contract with them two years later.[5] After loan spells atTours andLorient, he left forLigue 2 clubClermont on 1 July 2008 on a free transfer.
On 1 July 2010, Benatia signed forSerie A clubUdinese, again on a free transfer. He made 80 league appearances for Udinese, scoring six goals.[7]
On 13 July 2013, Benatia signed forRoma on a five-year contract in a €13.5 million transfer,[8] withNico López andValerio Verre going the other way onco-ownership as part of the same deal.[9] On 26 September, Benatia scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 victory againstSampdoria.[10] After further goals againstBologna,Catania.[11] andChievo Verona in the second half of the season, he ended the season with five goals from 33 games.[12]
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On 27 August 2014,Bayern Munich announced that they had signed Benatia[13] on a five-year deal[14] for a fee of €26 million.[15] Bayern Munich beatManchester City,Chelsea,Barcelona andReal Madrid, who were said to be also interested in signing him.[16] He admitted he was disappointed to leave Roma but was told he had to go because the club needed the money.[16] Upon hearing this, Roma PresidentJames Pallotta was furious and responded by saying he was sold for being a "poisonous liar".[17]
On 17 September 2014, Benatia made his official debut for Bayern in a 1–0 home win against Manchester City, for the opening match of the2014–15 UEFA Champions League season, where he played for 85 minutes, completing 93% of his passes. In the return match at Manchester City, he was sent off in the 20th minute for denyingSergio Agüero a clear goalscoring opportunity; the subsequent penalty was converted by Agüero and City went on to win 3–2.[18]
Benatia scored his first goal for Bayern on 13 December, opening the scoring in a 4–0 win atFC Augsburg with a header; this result put his club 10 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga table.[19] On 12 May 2015, Benatia scored his first Champions League goal, heading Bayern into the lead in their Champions League semi-final second leg against Barcelona; although his team won 3–2, they were eliminated 5–3 on aggregate.[20]
He started the2015–16 season in theGerman Super Cup, which Bayern lost in apenalty shootout after a 1–1 draw atVfL Wolfsburg.[21] On 14 August, he headedXabi Alonso's free kick for the first goal of thenew Bundesliga season in a 5–0 thrashing ofHamburger SV.[22]
_-_Medhi_Benatia_(cropped).jpg)
On 15 July 2016, Italian championsJuventus signed Benatia on a season-long loan for €3 million, with an option to buy for an extra €17 million at the end of season.[23][24] He made his club debut on 27 August, in a 1–0 away win overLazio inSerie A.[25]
On 10 March 2017, Benatia scored his first goal for Juventus in a 2–1 win overA.C. Milan in Serie A, at theJuventus Stadium.[26] On 12 May, Juventus exercised the option to permanently sign Benatia until 2020.[27][28]
In May 2017, Benatia walked out of an interview with television channelRAI Due when he heard racist abuse towards him in his earpiece. The company apologised.[29]
On 11 April 2018, Juventus were leading 3–0 away toReal Madrid in the quarter-finals of theChampions League, a score that would have taken the game to extra time as Juventus lost the first leg at home 3–0. RefereeMichael Oliver awarded a 93rd minute injury time penalty to Real Madrid after Benatia challengedLucas Vázquez in the box; the penalty was subsequently converted byCristiano Ronaldo for a final 4–3 aggregate loss. Benatia said after the game that Oliver's call made him "more and more disgusted by the world of football".[30] On 9 May, he scored twice in Juventus's 4–0 victory over Milan in the2018 Coppa Italia Final, at theStadio Olimpico in Rome.[31]
After making only five Serie A appearances during the first half of the 2018–19 season,[32] in January 2019, it was reported that Benatia had completed a move toQatar Stars League clubAl-Duhail.[33][34] On 28 January, Juventus announced the transfer fee, which was €8 million plus a maximum of €2 million in bonuses.[35] He made his debut for Al-Duhail on 16 February, in a 1–0 home win overAl Sailiya in the Qatar Stars League.[36]
In the summer of 2021, he moved toSüper Lig clubFatih Karagümrük. He made six league appearances before retiring from professional football on 9 December 2021.[37]
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Benatia made his international debut forMorocco on 19 November 2008 in a 3–0 friendly win over Zambia at theStade Mohammed V inCasablanca.[38] He scored his first goal for them on 4 June 2011, opening a 4–0 win over rivalsAlgeria at theMarrakesh Stadium, in qualification for the2012 Africa Cup of Nations.[39]
He was part of their squad at the final tournament in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, and played in their first two matches of an eventual group stage exit, defeats toTunisia andGabon.[40][41]
Benatia was Morocco's captain at the2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon and played every minute until the 1–0 elimination byEgypt in the quarter-finals. In March that year, he dropped himself from the national team until he became a regular for Juventus, stating "I think it’s unfair to come and play for the national team when I lack competitive football and take the place of someone who is in a better position".[42] On 11 November, he scored in a 2–0 win away to theIvory Coast that qualified theAtlas Lions to the2018 FIFA World Cup, their first such tournament for 20 years. He called it "the most beautiful moment of my career".[43]
Benatia retired from international duty in October 2019, having also played at the 2018 World Cup and2019 Africa Cup of Nations.[44]
On 30 November 2023, almost two years after retiring as a footballer, Benatia was appointed assporting director of Marseille, his first professional club.[45]
A tall, large, strong, and athleticdefender, with good technique, ball-playing ability, defensive skills, and an ability to organise his defence; during his time in Italy, Benatia earned a reputation as one of the best centre-backs in Serie A. He was known in particular for his tackling and ability in the air.[46][47][48]
| 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 | ||
| Tours (loan) | 2006–07[49] | Ligue 2 | 29 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 0 | ||
| Lorient (loan) | 2007–08 | Ligue 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Clermont | 2008–09[50] | Ligue 2 | 27 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 1 | ||
| 2009–10[49][50] | Ligue 2 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 1 | |||
| Total | 57 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 60 | 2 | ||||
| Udinese | 2010–11[50] | Serie A | 34 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 34 | 3 | |||
| 2011–12[50] | Serie A | 27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 11[c] | 1 | — | 38 | 2 | |||
| 2012–13[50] | Serie A | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 6[d] | 0 | — | 25 | 2 | |||
| Total | 80 | 6 | 0 | 0 | — | 17 | 1 | — | 97 | 7 | ||||
| Roma | 2013–14[50] | Serie A | 33 | 5 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 37 | 5 | |||
| Bayern Munich | 2014–15[51] | Bundesliga | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 7[e] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 2 | |
| 2015–16[21][52] | Bundesliga | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 6[e] | 0 | 1[f] | 0 | 22 | 1 | ||
| Total | 29 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 3 | |||
| Juventus | 2016–17[50] | Serie A | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 5[e] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 1 | |
| 2017–18[50] | Serie A | 20 | 2 | 3 | 2 | — | 8[e] | 0 | 1[g] | 0 | 32 | 4 | ||
| 2018–19[50] | Serie A | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[e] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Total | 40 | 3 | 4 | 2 | — | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 59 | 5 | |||
| Al-Duhail | 2018–19[49][50] | Qatar Stars League | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7[h] | 1 | — | 15 | 2 | |
| 2019–20[49][50] | Qatar Stars League | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6[h] | 0 | — | 26 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21[49][50] | Qatar Stars League | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5[h] | 0 | — | 19 | 0 | ||
| Total | 38 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 | — | 60 | 2 | |||
| Fatih Karagümrük | 2021–22[49][50] | Süper Lig | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 312 | 19 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 62 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 396 | 24 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morocco | 2009 | 7 | 0 |
| 2010 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2012 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2018 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 66 | 2 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 June 2011 | Marrakesh Stadium,Marrakesh, Morocco |  Algeria | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 2 | 11 November 2017 | Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny,Abidjan, Ivory Coast |  Ivory Coast | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Bayern Munich[54]
Juventus[54]
Al-Duhail[54]
Individual
The defender has joined Qatari club Al Duhail and will be replaced at Juventus by Martin Caceres
Morocco squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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