| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Wessam Haitham Mohammed Abou Ali[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1999-01-04)4 January 1999 (age 26) | ||
| Place of birth | Aalborg, Denmark[1] | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Columbus Crew | ||
| Number | 9 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2003–2009 | B52/AFC [da] | ||
| 2009–2018 | AaB | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018–2020 | AaB | 30 | (2) |
| 2019–2020 | →Vendsyssel (loan) | 22 | (11) |
| 2020–2021 | Silkeborg | 13 | (3) |
| 2021–2023 | Vendsyssel | 41 | (14) |
| 2023–2024 | IK Sirius | 16 | (10) |
| 2024–2025 | Al Ahly | 35 | (28) |
| 2025– | Columbus Crew | 5 | (3) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2016 | Denmark U17 | 3 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | Denmark U18 | 4 | (0) |
| 2018 | Denmark U19 | 1 | (1) |
| 2019 | Denmark U20 | 1 | (0) |
| 2024– | Palestine | 10 | (4) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20 September 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 03:17, 11 June 2025 (UTC) | |||
Wessam Haitham Mohammed Abou Ali (Arabic:وسام هيثم محمد أبو علي; born 4 January 1999) is a professionalfootballer who plays as astriker forMajor League Soccer clubColumbus Crew. Born in Denmark, he plays for thePalestine national team.
Starting out in local Aalborg clubB52/AFC [da] at age four,[3] Abou Ali moved to the largest club in the region,AaB, six years later.[3][4]
He made his seniorDanish Superliga debut on 15 March 2018 againstAC Horsens.[5] He scored his first senior goal on 22 April 2018 againstFC Midtjylland.[6]
On 23 August 2019, Abou Ali was loaned out toDanish 1st Division clubVendsyssel FF for the rest of 2019.[7] On 5 January 2020 it was confirmed, that he would continue at Vendsyssel for the rest of the season.[8]
On 9 September 2020, Abou Ali joined newly relegatedDanish 1st Division clubSilkeborg IF on a four-and-a-half-year contract until the end of 2024.[9][10] He scored his first goal for his new club on 19 September in a 3–1 win versusEsbjerg.[11] On 18 December, he scored a brace in a match againstSkive IK.[12]
In the search for more playing time, Abou Ali returned to Vendsyssel FF on 1 September 2021, signing a deal until June 2025.[13] During his debut againstLyngby Boldklub on 12 September, Abou Ali suddenly collapsed on the pitch and was brought to the hospital.[14] Abou Ali came on from the bench in the half time, before collapsing in the 59th minute. Two days later, he was discharged from the hospital and began rehabilitation.[15]
On 15 February 2022 in a friendly game againstDynamo Moscow, Abou Ali had to be taken from the field on a stretcher and driven to the hospital after suffering a punctured lung.[16]
On 13 July 2023, it was confirmed that Abou Ali had joined SwedishAllsvenskan clubIK Sirius on a deal until the end of 2027.[17] After only one training session with his new club, he started two days later on 15 July in the away match againstDegerfors IF and scored the opening goal via a header to help lead his club to a 3–0 win.[18]
On 11 January 2024, Abou Ali joined Egyptian clubAl Ahly by signing a four-and-a-half-year contract,[19] for a reported fee of €2 million.[20] On 23 February, he made his debut in a 1–0 away win overMedeama in theCAF Champions League.[21] Four days later, he scored his first goals by netting a brace in a 5–1 victory overBaladiyat El Mahalla.[22] On 26 April, he scored his first CAF Champions League goal in a 3–0 victory overTP Mazembe in the semi-finals second leg.[23]
He achieved his first trophy with the club by winning the2024 CAF Champions League final, defeatingEspérance 1–0 on aggregate.[24] He later secured theEgyptian Premier League title and finished as the top scorer with 18 goals despite joining mid-season.[25][26]
In the final game of the 2024–25 season, Abou Ali scored 4 goals againstPharco to help the team capture theEgyptian Premier League title.[27] On 23 June 2025, Abou Ali scored a hat-trick in Al Ahly's 4–4 draw againstPorto in the2025 FIFA Club World Cup.[28] Scoring with both feet and his head,[29] it was the firstperfect hat-trick in the history of intercontinental club tournaments and the first hat-trick by an Asian player in a FIFA club competition.[30] He was also awarded as theSuperior Player of the Match for his performance.[31]
On 26 July 2025, Abou Ali signed withMajor League Soccer clubColumbus Crew through the 2027 season with a club option for 2028,[32] with the reported transfer fee being $7.5 million plus $1 million in add-ons.[33][34] He made his debut with the club on 23 August 2025 in a 2–1 loss to theNew England Revolution.[35]
Born in Denmark, Abou Ali is of Palestinian descent.[9] He is a former youth international for Denmark but ultimately committed to the Palestinian national team.[36] On 27 March 2024, thePalestinian Football Association announced FIFA’s approval of his change of allegiance, paving the way for him to play with thePalestinian national team.[37]
He made his debut on 6 June 2024 in aWorld Cup qualifier againstLebanon at theJassim bin Hamad Stadium in Qatar. He started the game and was substituted in added time, as the game ended in a scoreless draw.[38] Later that year, on 10 September, he scored his first international goal in a 3–1 defeat againstJordan during the World Cup qualifierthird round.[39] Abou Ali scored four goals for Palestine during the third round, but the team were eliminated after a draw in the last match againstOman.[26]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| AaB | 2017–18 | Danish Superliga | 6 | 1 | — | — | — | 6 | 1 | |||
| 2018–19 | Danish Superliga | 22 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | 23 | 3 | |||
| 2019–20 | Danish Superliga | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 30 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 4 | ||
| Vendsyssel FF (loan) | 2019–20 | Danish 1st Division | 22 | 11 | 1 | 2 | — | — | 23 | 13 | ||
| Silkeborg IF | 2020–21 | Danish 1st Division | 10 | 3 | — | — | — | 10 | 3 | |||
| 2021–22 | Danish Superliga | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 3 | ||
| Vendsyssel FF | 2021–22 | Danish 1st Division | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| 2022–23 | Danish 1st Division | 31 | 14 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 34 | 16 | |||
| Total | 33 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 16 | ||
| IK Sirius | 2023 | Allsvenskan | 16 | 10 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 17 | 11 | ||
| Al Ahly | 2023–24 | Egyptian Premier League | 19 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 6[b] | 1 | — | 25 | 19 | |
| 2024–25 | Egyptian Premier League | 16 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10[b] | 4 | 8[c] | 5 | 34 | 19 | |
| Total | 35 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 59 | 38 | ||
| Columbus Crew | 2025 | Major League Soccer | 5 | 3 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | ||
| Total | 152 | 69 | 6 | 7 | 16 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 181 | 84 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palestine | 2024 | 6 | 2 |
| 2025 | 4 | 2 | |
| Total | 10 | 4 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 10 September 2024 | Kuala Lumpur Stadium,Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |  Jordan | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2. | 15 October 2024 | Jassim bin Hamad Stadium,Al Rayyan, Qatar |  Kuwait | 1–1 | 2–2 | |
| 3. | 25 March 2025 | Amman International Stadium,Amman, Jordan |  Iraq | 1–1 | 2–1 | |
| 4. | 5 June 2025 | Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium,Kuwait City, Kuwait | Kuwait | 2–0 | 2–0 |
Al Ahly
Individual
