 Salman withSaudi Arabia at the2018 FIFA World Cup | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Salman Mohammed Mohammed Al-Faraj[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1989-08-01)1 August 1989 (age 36) | ||
| Place of birth | Medina, Saudi Arabia[2] | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[3] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Neom | ||
| Number | 7 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2004–2008 | Al Hilal | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2008–2024 | Al Hilal | 242 | (17) |
| 2024– | Neom | 9 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2011–2012 | Saudi Arabia U23 | 2 | (1) |
| 2021 | Saudi Arabia Olympic (wild-card) | 3 | (0) |
| 2012–2023 | Saudi Arabia | 73 | (9) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 22:59, 28 January 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 19:33, 17 October 2023 (UTC) | |||
Salman Mohammed Mohammed Al-Faraj (Arabic:سَلْمَان مُحَمَّد مُحَمَّد الْفَرَج; born 1 August 1989) is a Saudi Arabian professionalfootballer who plays as amidfielder forSaudi Pro League clubNeom.
Al-Faraj was aone-club man ofAl Nassr.
On July 28, 2024, Al-Faraj completed his transfer toNeom, a team in theSaudi First Division League.[4]
Al-Faraj's first match with hisnational team was againstCongo in an internationalfriendly atPrince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium inal-Hasa,Saudi Arabia on 14 October 2012. The match ended in a 3–2 win.[5] In December 2014, he was named in the Saudi squad for the2015 AFC Asian Cup in Australia.[6]
Salman's first goal with his national team was againstTimor-Leste during thesecond round of the2018 World Cup qualifiers atKing Abdullah Sports City, inJeddah, Saudi Arabia on 3 September 2015. The match ended in a 7–0 win.[7]
In May 2018, he was named in Saudi Arabia's preliminarysquad for the2018 World Cup in Russia.[8] On 4 June, Salman was included in 23-man squad for the World Cup.[9] On 25 June, Salman scored the equalizing goal and his first ever World Cup goal from the penalty kick in a 2–1 victory overEgypt in their last group stage match of the tournament; it was Saudi Arabia's lone win in the tournament as the team crashed out of the group stage.[10]
In June 2021, he assumed the role of captain for the national team at the2020 Summer Olympics.[11] Subsequently, in November 2022, he earned a spot in the 26-man squad for the2022 World Cup in Qatar.[12] However, under the coaching ofRoberto Mancini, Al-Faraj was excluded from the squad for the2023 AFC Asian Cup, reportedly due to off-field issues and frictions.[13]
| Club | Season | League | King Cup | Crown Prince Cup | Asia | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Al-Hilal | 2008–09 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |
| 2009–10 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 26 | 1 | ||
| 2012–13 | 22 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 1 | — | 36 | 4 | ||
| 2013–14 | 22 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 33 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | 20 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 1 | — | 42 | 6 | ||
| 2015–16 | 19 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 36 | 3 | |
| 2016–17 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 31 | 2 | |
| 2017–18 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | — | 24 | 3 | |||
| 2018–19 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 10 | 2 | ||
| 2019–20 | 19 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 2 | ||
| 2020–21 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 19 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | 22 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | 10 | 1 | 1[c] 1[a] | 0 | 38 | 2 | ||
| 2022–23 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | |||
| 2023–24 | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | — | 31 | 0 | |||
| Total | 242 | 17 | 33 | 2 | 19 | 3 | 90 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 391 | 25 | |
| Career totals | 242 | 17 | 33 | 2 | 19 | 3 | 90 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 391 | 25 | |
| Saudi Arabia | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2012 | 2 | 0 |
| 2013 | 3 | 0 |
| 2014 | 7 | 0 |
| 2015 | 10 | 1 |
| 2016 | 8 | 0 |
| 2017 | 8 | 1 |
| 2018 | 11 | 2 |
| 2019 | 7 | 2 |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 9 | 2 |
| 2022 | 6 | 0 |
| 2023 | 2 | 1 |
| Total | 73 | 9 |
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 3 September 2015 | King Abdullah Sports City,Jeddah,Saudi Arabia |  Timor-Leste | 4–0 | 7–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2. | 7 October 2017 |  Jamaica | 3–1 | 5–2 | Friendly | |
| 3. | 9 May 2018 | Estadio Ramón de Carranza,Cádiz,Spain |  Algeria | 1–0 | 2–0 | |
| 4. | 25 June 2018 | Volgograd Arena,Volgograd,Russia |  Egypt | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2018 FIFA World Cup |
| 5. | 14 November 2019 | Pakhtakor Stadium,Tashkent,Uzbekistan |  Uzbekistan | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 6. | 2–2 | |||||
| 7. | 15 June 2021 | King Saud University Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | 1–0 | 3–0 | ||
| 8. | 2–0 | |||||
| 9. | 13 October 2023 | Estádio Municipal de Portimão,Portimão,Portugal |  Nigeria | 1–0 | 2–2 | Friendly |
Al-Hilal
