Houssem-Eddine Chaâbane Aouar (; born 30 June 1998) is a 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

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Saudi Pro League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

club

Al-Ittihad Al-Ittihad may refer to: Sports Football Men Teams * Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia * Al Ittihad SCSC (Tripoli), Tripoli, Libya * Al Ittihad Gheryan, Gharyan, Libya * Al Ittihad Misurata SC, Misurata, Libya * Al Ittihad SC ...

. Born in France, he plays for the Algeria national team. Graduating from the youth setup of Lyon, Aouar spent his professional career at the club for seven seasons before he joined the Italian club Roma in 2023. After playing one season with the Italian club, he joined the Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad in 2024. Aouar is a former youth international for France. He made one appearance for the country at senior level before switching his allegiance to Algeria in 2023. He represented the latter country at the

2023 Africa Cup of Nations The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, known in short as the 2023 AFCON or CAN 2023 and for sponsor (commercial), sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, was the 34th edition of the biennial Africa Cup of Nations tournam ...

Early life

Houssem-Eddine Chaâbane Aouar was born on 30 June 1998 in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, to parents from

Béni Saf Beni Saf () is a town in northwestern Algeria, about 80 kilometers southwest of Oran. The town was founded in 1876 as a shipping port for iron ore, which is mined just south of the town. Other products of the town include zinc, marble and onyx, and ...

in Algeria. He grew up in Villeurbane.

Club career

Lyon

Aouar joined the Olympique Lyonnais Academy in 2009 at the age of 11. He signed a three-year professional contract at

in July 2016. He made his first team debut in on 16 February 2017 in a 1–4 away win over

AZ Alkmaar Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known internationally as AZ Alkmaar, or simply and most commonly as AZ () in the Netherlands, is a Dutch professional Association football, football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan#The Zaan district, Zaan district. ...

in the first-leg match of the round of 32 of the knockout phase of the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

, replacing

Sergi Darder Sergi Darder Moll (born 22 December 1993) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club Mallorca. Club career Espanyol and Málaga Born in Artà, Balearic Islands, Darder played for two local clubs befo ...

after 84 minutes. Aouar scored his first goal for Lyon's first team a week later in the second-leg match against AZ Alkmaar at

Parc Olympique Lyonnais Parc Olympique Lyonnais, known for sponsorship reasons as Groupama Stadium, is a 59,186-seat stadium in Décines-Charpieu, in the Metropolis of Lyon. The home of French football club Olympique Lyonnais (OL), it replaced their previous stadium, ...

, which Lyon won 7–1. He made his

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

debut by starting in the away match against

Bastia Bastia ( , , , ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It also has the second-highest popu ...

on 16 April 2017, but the match was abandoned at half-time with the score at 0–0. A win was given to Lyon three weeks later. He was nominated for the Golden Boy award in July 2018. At the beginning of the 2017–18 season, despite having played only five competitive matches for Lyon's first team since he joined the club, Aouar was given the symbolic number 8 (having previously been worn by club legend

Juninho Juninho, Portuguese for "little Junior", is a common nickname in Brazil for those whose full name includes Júnior. It is often combined with an epithet, sometimes a demonym (a word derived from their place of origin). The following association foo ...

) left free when

Corentin Tolisso Corentin Tolisso (born 3 August 1994) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Midfielder#Central midfielder, central midfielder for Ligue 1 club Olympique Lyonnais, Lyon. A graduate of the Lyon academy, Tolisso ...

left the club for

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

in June 2017. On 11 December 2019, Aouar scored a goal against

RB Leipzig RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. (), commonly known as RB Leipzig or informally as Red Bull Leipzig, is a German professional association football, football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by the initiative of the company ...

in a Champions League group stage match helping Lyon to secure their way into the Champions League round of 16. His side later upset both

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

and

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

to reach the semi-finals, where they were beaten by

Roma

On 11 June 2023, it was announced that Aouar had signed a five-year contract with

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

club

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

. Later that year, on 26 August, he scored his first goal in a 2–1 away defeat against

Hellas Verona Hellas Verona Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Hellas Verona (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Verona, Veneto, that currently plays in Serie A. The team won ...

Al-Ittihad

On 16 July 2024, Aouar signed for Saudi club

for a reported fee of €12 million.

International career

France

In 2014, Aouar was called up to the France under-17 national team, but only played one game. In 2019, he was a starter throughout the UEFA European Under-21 Championship for the France under-21 national team, eventually being eliminated by

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

in the semi-finals. In November 2019, Aouar was called up to the

France national team France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, but was unable to join the team due to suffering an injury. He was not replaced in the squad. On 26 August 2020, Aouar received his first call-up for France to prepare for

2020–21 UEFA Nations League The 2020–21 UEFA Nations League was the second season of the UEFA Nations League, an international association football competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA. The competition was held from Septembe ...

matches against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

in early September. However, on 27 August, he tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

during a regular test carried out by Lyon, amid its pandemic in France; he was put into isolation for a fortnight and had to skip training for at least 10 to 15 days. Therefore, France decided to replace him with

Nabil Fekir Nabil Fekir (; born 18 July 1993) is a French professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for UAE Pro League club Al Jazira. An academy graduate of Lyon, he was promoted to the senior squad in July 2013. Fekir became a first-t ...

. Aouar eventually made his France debut on 7 October 2020 in a 7–1 friendly win over

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

Algeria

In March 2023, Aouar switched his international allegiance from his birth to the football federation of the country of his parents, Algeria. In an interview with the

Algerian Football Federation The Algerian Football Federation (AFF); () is the governing body of Association football, football in Algeria. Formed in 1962 and was based in the capital Algiers. It has jurisdiction on the Algerian football league system and is in charge of th ...

, he said, "the president held out his hand to me and it seemed like it was just meant to be. I had a second chance and I jumped on it." He also added that he "regretted" having played for France, saying that he felt he "hadn't made the best choice". On 18 June 2023, he made his debut for

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

against

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

in the African Cup of Nations qualification match. In December 2023, he was named in Algeria's squad for the

Style of play

Aouar is a versatile

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

who can play anywhere in midfield, and has been praised for his excellent technical ability and calmness with the ball at his feet.

Personal life

Aouar holds French and Algerian nationalities. He holds

and

Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; ; ''Zineddin Lyazid Zidan''; ; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as an attacking midfi ...

as role models. He is a Muslim.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Algeria score listed first, score column indicates score after each Aouar goal''

Honours

Lyon *

Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a knockout cup competition in French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was established in 1993 and, unlike the Coupe de France ...

runner-up: 2019–20 Al-Ittihad *

: 2024–25 *

King's Cup King's Cup (incl. translations), may refer to: Sports Football * Copa del Rey, Spanish for "King's Cup," the main national knockout tournament in men's football * King's Cup (Bahrain), the premier national knockout football tournament * King's ...

: 2024–25 Individual *

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

Squad of the Season: 2019–20

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aouar, Houssem 1998 births Living people Footballers from Villeurbanne Algerian men's footballers French men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Olympique Lyonnais players AS Roma players Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah) players Ligue 1 players Serie A players Saudi Pro League players France men's youth international footballers France men's under-21 international footballers France men's international footballers Algeria men's international footballers 2023 Africa Cup of Nations players Dual internationalists (men's football) French sportspeople of Algerian descent French expatriate men's footballers French expatriate sportspeople in Italy Algerian expatriate men's footballers Algerian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Italy 21st-century French sportsmen