Faissal El Bakhtaoui (born 8 November 1992) is a French professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a striker for

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

side Guidonia Montecelio 1937, and has previously played for

Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently compete in the after winning the 2022–23 Scottish League One title. Dunfermline play at ...

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

, Queen of the South, Difaâ El Jadidi,

ASD Nocerina 1910 A.S.D. Nocerina 1910, known as Nocerina and formerly known as Città di Nocera, is an Italian football club based in Nocera Inferiore, Campania. The club was founded in 2015 by using the sports title of Città di Agropoli, after the major club o ...

(two spells),

Ħamrun Spartans Ħamrun Spartans Football Club is a Maltese professional football club based in Ħamrun. Since being founded in 1907, Ħamrun Spartans have won 11 league championships, the latest one being in 2025, while being runners-up eleven times. One of t ...

, A.S.D. Nuova Florida,

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

and Cynthialbalonga.

Career

Dunfermline Athletic

Born in

Saint-Tropez Saint-Tropez ( , ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Var (department), Var departments of France, department and the regions of France, region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Southern France. It is west of Nice and east of Marseille, o ...

, El Bakhtaoui started his career with

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

club Racing Club de la Baie. In July 2012,

Scottish First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. It was replaced by the Scottish Championship. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 in Scottish footb ...

club

signed El Bakhtaoui after he impressed then-manager

Jim Jefferies Geoff James Nugent (born February 1977), known professionally as Jim Jefferies, is an Australian and American comedian, actor, and writer. He created and starred in the FX sitcom ''Legit'' (2013–2014) and the Comedy Central late-night sho ...

in trial matches versus

Berwick Rangers Berwick Rangers Football Club is a football team based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed in England, who play in the Scottish football system. Founded in 1881, they currently play in the , the fifth tier of Scottish football, despite being ba ...

and

Lochgelly Lochgelly ( ; , IPA: �ɫ̪ɔxˈʝaɫ̪ai is a town in Fife, Scotland. It is located between Lochs Ore and Gelly to the north-west and south-east respectively. It is separated from Cowdenbeath by the village of Lumphinnans. According to the ...

. His first season with The Pars resulted in him mainly working on his development, with only two appearances being made in the latter stages of the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

. With Dunfermline's financial difficulties causing many first team players to leave the club, El Bakhtaoui started to feature in more matches, mainly in the second half of the 2013–14 season, where he went on to score four goals in 18 matches; two of which were in Scottish Championship play-off matches versus

Stranraer Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; ), also known as The Toon or The Cleyhole, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on Loch Ryan and the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer is Dumfries ...

in May 2014. The 2014–15 season started even more brightly for El Bakhtaoui, having been included in the ''Pars'' team for most of the matches. In October and November 2014, he scored four goals in five league matches to help Dunfermline in their push for promotion to the

Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association footb ...

. El Bakhtaoui's start to the 2015–16 season was even more impressive than the previous season, with the

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

scoring four consecutive braces in the first four competitive matches of the season, scoring a further two against

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...

side

in the

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

. After attracting interest from other teams, El Bakhtaoui was named Scottish League One Player of the Month for the month of August, primarily for his achievement of scoring 12 goals in eight matches. El Bakhtaoui was once more given the player of the month award for March, after his goals against

Stenhousemuir Stenhousemuir (; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies within the Falkirk council area of Scotland. The town is north-northwest of Falkirk and directly adjoins to Larbert in the west, where the nearest rail access is located ...

and

Ayr United Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the , the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is The Honest Men, fro ...

, as well as his first career

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in a 3–1 win over

Brechin City Brechin City Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the townDespite the name of the football club, Brechin is not an official city. Brechin was historically known as a city because it has a cathedral. of Brechin in Angus. The club w ...

, helped seal the

Scottish League One The Scottish League One, known as William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill League One for sponsorship reasons, is the third tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association football, foot ...

championship for the Pars. With his contract due to expire at the end of May 2016, El Bakhtaoui once again started attracting interest from a number of top-tier teams, including

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

and

. Although offered a new contract by the Pars, El Bakhtaoui announced in April 2016 that he was ready to move to a club in a higher league, and with the relationship between him and manager

Allan Johnston Allan Johnston (born 14 December 1973) is a Scottish football player and coach, who was most recently the manager of Queen of the South. Nicknamed 'Magic', Johnston started his professional playing career with Heart of Midlothian and then fo ...

breaking down due to the latter allowing the player a 15-minute cameo in the final game of the season, it appeared that El Bakhtaoui would be leaving the club at the end of his contract.

Dundee

In July 2016, El Bakhtaoui went on trial with

English Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divis ...

club

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

, after former

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; , ) is a city, parish, and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. Dunfermline was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Scotland between the 11th and 15th centuries. The earliest ...

striker

Owen Coyle Owen Columba Coyle (born 14 July 1966) is a professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Indian Super League club Chennaiyin. He played as a striker for several clubs in England and Scotland, and made one appearanc ...

had been impressed by his goalscoring record. After his trial with Rovers ended, El Bakhtaoui signed a three-year deal with

club

on 2 August 2016. El Bakhtaoui's first appearance for the ''Dark Blues'' arrived as a second-half substitute for Danny Williams in a 3–1 win versus Ross County in

Dingwall Dingwall (, ) is a town and a royal burgh in the Highland (council area), Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,491. It was an east-coast harbour that now lies inland. Dingwall Castle was once the biggest castle north ...

. El Bakhtaoui made a further appearance as a substitute versus

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

Dens Park Dens Park is a football stadium in Dundee, Scotland, which is the home of club Dundee F.C. and has a capacity of . Tannadice Park, the home of rivals Dundee United, is just 200 yards (183 metres) away. History Dundee moved to "Dens" from the ...

, before making his first start six days later in a 1–1 draw with

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, who currently compete in . They were established in 1874 from the school football team at Hamilto ...

. El Bakhtaoui spent the season playing out wide or behind the striker and finished the season with 4 goals. One of which was a goal of the season contender in a 2–1 defeat versus

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

receiving positive comments from Celtic manager

Brendan Rodgers Brendan Rodgers (born 26 January 1973) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who is manager of Scottish Premiership club Celtic. Rodgers began his career as a defender at Ballymena United, where he stayed until h ...

. At the start of the 2017–18 season in the

Dundee Derby The Dundee derby is a football match between Dundee and Dundee United. The clubs are based yards apart in the city of Dundee, the fourth-largest city in Scotland. History Dundee is the older of the two, having been founded in 1893, compared t ...

in the second round of the Scottish League Cup, El Bakhtaoui scored his first goal of the season, a half volley from 25 yards to help Dundee to a 2–1 victory. In 2020, his goal was voted as Dundee's 'Goal of the Decade' by fans via

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

. El Bakhtaoui returned to Dunfermline on 12 July 2018, signing a one-year loan deal with his former club. His return to Dunfermline was met with much fanfare, however, El Bakhtaoui's second spell with the club was far less successful than his first. On his second debut for the ''Pars'' he scored two goals in a 7–1

win versus

. He scored one further goal, a penalty against

Greenock Morton Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the . The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Greenock Morton in 1994 to celebr ...

in December. After returning to Dundee he was released at the end of the 2018–19 season, having scored just eight goals in 66 appearances for the Dee.

Queen of the South

On 9 August 2019, El Bakhtaoui reunited with former Pars manager

, signing a one-year deal with

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...

club Queen of the South."Squad - Season 19/20" qosfc.com (Select season then click player image for drop down text)
/ref> On 14 January 2020, Queen of the South announced El Bakhtaoui as moving to

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

to sign with Difaâ El Jadidi for an undisclosed fee. The

Royal Moroccan Football Federation The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (; Tamazight: ⵜⴰⵙⴷⴰⵡⵉⵜ ⵜⴰⴳⵍⴷⴰⵏⵜ ⵜⴰⵎⵖⵔⴰⴱⵉⵜ ⵏ ⵜⵡⵊⴰ ⵏ ⵓⴹⴰⵔ) is the governing body of football in Morocco. It was established in 1956. It beca ...

were reported in the announcement as interested in capping El Bakhtoui for the Moroccan local national team (with their defence of the

African Nations Cup The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

scheduled to be April 2020). To be selected for Morocco, El Bakhtaoui would be required to be signed for a club based in Morocco.

Difaâ El Jadidi

Difaâ El Jadidi announced El Bakhtaoui's arrival at the club on 16 January 2020.www.dfjfoot.com 16 January 2020
/ref>

A.S.D. Nocerina 1910

In February 2021, it was announced that Italian

Serie D The Serie D () is the highest level of semi-professional football in Italy, and the fourth tier of the Italian national league system. It sits beneath the third and lowest fully professional league, Serie C, and feeds in to it through promotion ...

side

A.S.D. Nocerina 1910 A.S.D. Nocerina 1910, known as Nocerina and formerly known as Città di Nocera, is an Italian football club based in Nocera Inferiore, Campania. The club was founded in 2015 by using the sports title of Città di Agropoli, after the major club o ...

were undergoing the bureaucratic process to register El Bakhtaoui. He officially signed on 5 March. Just two days later, he would have a dream debut for ''I Molossi'', scoring twice in a 3–0 win.

Ħamrun Spartans

In July 2021, El Bakhtaoui was revealed to be in advanced talks with

Maltese Maltese may refer to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta * Maltese alphabet * Maltese cuisine * Maltese culture * Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people * Maltese people, people from Malta or of Maltese ...

side

, and would sign for them the following month. El Bakhtaoui would record his first goal for the club in a league win against

Gudja United Gudja United Football Club is a Malta, Maltese professional football (soccer), football club from the south-eastern village of Gudja, that currently plays in the Maltese Premier League. Gudja United plays in blue and white striped jerseys. Their ...

A.S.D. Nuova Florida

In June 2022, El Bakhtaoui returned to Italian football by signing with

side A.S.D. Nuova Florida.

U.S. Livorno 1915

After a brief but successful spell with Nuova Florida, El Bakhtaoui signed with fellow Serie D club

U.S. Livorno 1915 Unione Sportiva Livorno 1915 (formerly A.S. Livorno Calcio, commonly known as Livorno), is a professional football club based in Livorno, Tuscany, Italy. They compete in Serie C, the third tier of professional Italian football after their prom ...

in December 2022.

A.S.D. Nocerina 1910 (second spell)

On 7 July 2023, El Bakhtaoui would return to former club Nocerina.

S.S.D. Cynthialbalonga

In December 2023, El Bakhtaoui would move to fellow Serie D club

SSD Cynthialbalonga Società Sportiva Dilettantistica Cynthialbalonga is an Italian association football club based in the Latium cities of Genzano di Roma, Albano Laziale, Castel Gandolfo and Pavona, currently playing in Serie D. History The foundation The club ...

. He made his debut shortly after off the bench in a defeat to Cavese.

Guidonia Montecelio 1937

Despite it appearing that El Bakhtaoui had joined Serie D club

Avezzano Calcio Avezzano Calcio A.S.D., commonly known as Avezzano ( ), is an Italian football club based in Avezzano, Abruzzo, who compete in , the fourth tier of the Italian football league system. History The club was founded in 1919 and refounded in 199 ...

, it would actually be confirmed later that he had signed for fellow Italian club Guidonia Montecelio 1937, formerly known as Monterosi Tuscia. With Guidonia, El Bakhtaoui would win the

Group G in the 2024–25 season to earn promotion to

Serie C The Serie C (), officially known as Serie C NOW for sponsorship purposes, is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing ...

Career statistics

Honours

Club

;Dunfermline Athletic *

: 2015–16 Guidonia Montecelio 1937 *

- Group G: 2024–25 *

Coppa Italia Serie D Coppa Italia Serie D (Italian language, Italian for Serie D Italian Cup) is a straight knock-out based competition involving teams from Serie D in Italy, Italian football (soccer), football. The competition is held since the 1999–2000, when Ser ...

runners-up: 2024–25

Individual

* Scottish League One Player of the Month: August 2015, March 2016 *PFA Scotland Scottish League One Player of the Year: 2015–16

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bakhtaoui, Faissal El 1992 births Living people French men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Scottish Football League players Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players Dundee F.C. players Queen of the South F.C. players People from Saint-Tropez French sportspeople of Moroccan descent French expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Morocco Expatriate men's footballers in Malta Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Footballers from Var (department) Difaâ Hassani El Jadidi players ASD Nocerina 1910 players French expatriate sportspeople in Malta French expatriate sportspeople in Italy French expatriate sportspeople in Morocco French expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Hamrun Spartans F.C. players US Livorno 1915 players Serie D players Maltese Premier League players Botola players Scottish Professional Football League players Monterosi Tuscia FC players 21st-century French sportsmen