 Saïss withMorocco in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Romain Ghanem Paul Saïss[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1990-03-26)26 March 1990 (age 35) | ||
| Place of birth | Bourg-de-Péage, France | ||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back,defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Al Sadd | ||
| Number | 29 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1995–2000 | USBS Epône | ||
| 2000–2004 | FC Mantois | ||
| 2004–2010 | Valence | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010–2011 | Valence | 13 | (4) |
| 2011–2013 | Clermont | 48 | (1) |
| 2013–2015 | Le Havre | 61 | (3) |
| 2015–2016 | Angers | 35 | (2) |
| 2016–2022 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 176 | (13) |
| 2022–2023 | Beşiktaş | 25 | (1) |
| 2023– | Al Sadd | 8 | (1) |
| 2023–2024 | →Al-Shabab (loan) | 25 | (4) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2012– | Morocco | 85 | (3) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 25 September 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 18 November 2025 (UTC) | |||
Romain Ghanem Paul Saïss (Arabic:رومان غانم بول سايس; born 26 March 1990) is a professionalfootballer who plays as acentre-back ordefensive midfielder forQatar Stars League clubAl Sadd. Born in France, he represents theMorocco national team.
Saïss began his career withValence, then played forLe Havre andClermont ofLigue 2, andAngers ofLigue 1 before joiningWolverhampton Wanderers in 2016. He made 206 appearances and scored 15 goals, before moving to Beşiktaş in 2021.
Romain Saïss holdsFrench andMoroccan nationalities. He represents Morocco at international level. A full international since 2012, he has earned over 80 caps for Morocco, becoming the team's captain in 2019. He has represented the nation at fourAfrica Cup of Nations tournaments and twoFIFA World Cups, helping the team come fourth at the2022 edition of the latter.
Saïss began his senior career withValence in theChampionnat de France Amateur 2 (fifth-tier), and supplemented his €500 monthly salary with washing up at his parents' restaurant. At 21, he signed his first professional contract withClermont inLigue 2.[3]
In June 2013, Saïss moved across Ligue 2 toLe Havre on a two-year deal.[4] When it ended, he joinedLigue 1 sideAngers on a two-year contract.[5]
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On 30 August 2016, Saïss moved to England, joiningEFL Championship clubWolverhampton Wanderers for an undisclosed fee on a four-year deal.[6] He made his debut on 17 September in a 2–0 win atNewcastle United.[7] In the game, he was subjected to racial abuse by opponentJonjo Shelvey, who was given a five-match ban and £100,000 fine byThe FA in December.[8]
He scored his first goal for the club on 30 September 2017 in a 4–0 win againstBurton Albion.[9]
Following Wolves' promotion to thePremier League in 2018, Saïss made his debut Premier League appearance as a substitute in a 1–1 draw withManchester United atOld Trafford on 22 September 2018.[10] His first start in the Premier League came in a 2–1 defeat away toCardiff City at theCardiff City Stadium on 30 November.[11] He scored his first Premier League goal in a 1–1 draw withFulham atCraven Cottage on 26 December 2018.[12] On 21 February 2019 he agreed a new contract until the summer of 2021.[13]
On 25 July 2019 Saïss made his debut appearance in UEFA European club football competition as a late substitute in Wolves's 2–0 home win againstCrusaders in the2019–20 UEFA Europa League Second Qualifying Round[14] and on 24 October he scored his first goal in such a competition when he scored the opening goal of a 2–1 away win atSlovan Bratislava in the2019–20 UEFA Europa League group stage.[15]
Saïss triggered an automatic one-year extension to his contract on 18 March 2021, by making 20 starts in the Premier League during the2020–21 season, tying him to the club until June 2022.[16] He was described as the MoroccanMaldini by head coachBruno Lage on 15 December that year, after his display in the away Premier League tie atBrighton & Hove Albion, where he scored the only goal in a much longed-for win (Wolves's first-ever win at Brighton in the top-flight in seven attempts dating back to 1979).[17] He made his 100th appearance in the Premier League in 2–0 win away toTottenham Hotspur on 13 February 2022.[18] His 200th competitive appearance in all competitions for Wolves was on 5 March 2022 in a home fixture againstCrystal Palace.[19]
On 31 May 2022, Saïss announced that he would leave Wolves at the end of his contract on 1 July, having played 206 games for the club over six seasons, and scoring 15 goals, nine of them in the Premier League.[20]
On 14 June 2022, Saïss moved to Turkey, signing a two-year contract withSüper Lig clubBeşiktaş.[21] He made his debut on 6 August as theseason began with a 1–0 home win overKayserispor.[22]
On 24 July 2023, Saïss signed a two-year contract withQatar Stars League clubAl Sadd,[23] for a reported fee of €2.5 million, which could rise to €2.8 million with add-ons.[24]
On 5 September 2023, after making just 3 appearances for Al Sadd, the Qatari side sent Saïss on a season-longloan toSaudi Pro League clubAl-Shabab.[25][26]
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Saïss, who was born and raised in France to a Moroccan father and a French mother, chose to represent theMorocco national team. He made his debut in a 1–0friendly loss toTogo in November 2012.[4]
Saïss was in the Moroccan squad that reached the quarter-finals of the2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon. He scored his first international goal in their 3–1 group win over Togo.[27] In June 2018, he was named in Morocco's 23-man squad for the2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia,[28] and featured in group games againstIran andSpain.[citation needed] After the2019 Africa Cup of Nations, in which Morocco made the last 16, Saïss became the captain of theAtlas Lions.[29]
On 10 November 2022, Saïss was named in Morocco's 26-man squad for the2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[30][31] He scored the opening goal of a 2–0 group stage victory overBelgium on 27 November, Morocco's first goal of the tournament. The goal had previously been awarded toAbdelhamid Sabiri, but Saïss was later credited for the goal byFIFA.[32] In the semi-final against France – the first ever played by an African nation – he was substituted after 21 minutes due to injury as Morocco lost 2–0.[33]
On 28 December 2023, Saïss was amongst the 27 players selected by coachWalid Regragui to represent Morocco in the2023 Africa Cup of Nations.[34][35]
Saïss's father is Moroccan and his mother is French, both restaurant owners.[36] He is aMuslim and observes fasting in the month ofRamadan.[37]
| 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 | ||
| Valence | 2010–11 | CFA 2 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 13 | 4 | |||
| Clermont | 2011–12 | Ligue 2 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 1 | ||
| 2012–13 | Ligue 2 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 0 | |||
| Total | 48 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 51 | 1 | ||||
| Clermont B | 2012–13 | CFA 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Le Havre | 2013–14 | Ligue 2 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 1 | ||
| 2014–15 | Ligue 2 | 34 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 2 | |||
| Total | 61 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 64 | 3 | ||||
| Angers | 2015–16 | Ligue 1 | 35 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 37 | 2 | ||
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2016–17[39] | Championship | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18[40] | Championship | 42 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 44 | 4 | |||
| 2018–19[41] | Premier League | 19 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 2 | |||
| 2019–20[42] | Premier League | 33 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14[c] | 1 | — | 49 | 3 | ||
| 2020–21[43] | Premier League | 27 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 3 | |||
| 2021–22[44] | Premier League | 31 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 32 | 3 | |||
| Total | 176 | 13 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 14 | 1 | — | 206 | 15 | |||
| Beşiktaş | 2022–23 | Süper Lig | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 26 | 1 | |||
| Al Sadd | 2023–24 | Qatar Stars League | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 3[d] | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||
| 2024–25 | Qatar Stars League | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6[e] | 1 | — | 11 | 2 | ||
| 2025–26 | Qatar Stars League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[e] | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | ||
| Total | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 2 | ||
| Al-Shabab (loan) | 2023–24 | Saudi Pro League | 25 | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 28 | 4 | |||
| Career total | 379 | 29 | 18 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 22 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 432 | 32 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morocco | 2012 | 1 | 0 |
| 2016 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 13 | 1 | |
| 2018 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 19 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 85 | 3 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 January 2017 | Stade d'Oyem,Oyem, Gabon |  Togo | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2017 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 2 | 27 November 2022 | Al Thumama Stadium,Doha, Qatar |  Belgium | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup |
| 3 | 17 January 2024 | Laurent Pokou Stadium,San-Pédro, Ivory Coast |  Tanzania | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2023 Africa Cup of Nations |
Wolverhampton Wanderers
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