Islam Slimani (; born 18 June 1988) is an Algerian 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

Belgian Pro League The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023 ...

club

Westerlo Westerlo () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises seven towns: * Westerlo centrum * * Tongerlo * Heultje * Voortkapel * Oosterwijk * In 2021, Westerlo had a total population of 25,288. Th ...

on loan from

CR Belouizdad Chabab Riadhi Belouizdad (); known as CR Belouizdad or simply CRB for short, is an Algerian professional football club based in Algiers, Algeria, that plays in the Ligue Professionnelle 1, the top flight of Algerian football. The club has com ...

in the

Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 The Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 (), known as Championnat National de Première Division or Ligue 1 for short, and formerly known as the Championnat National 1, is the Algerian professional league for association football clubs. It is the co ...

, and the Algeria national team. Slimani began his career in his homeland with

JSM Chéraga Jeunesse Sportive Madinet Chéraga (), known as JSM Chéraga or JSMC for short, is an Algerian football club based in Chéraga, Algiers, Algeria. The club was founded in 1940 and its colours are red, white and green. Their home stadium, Laamali ...

and

. In 2013, he moved to Europe, signing for

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

. He played and scored regularly during his three seasons in Portugal, helping his team win the

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...

in 2015. In 2016, Slimani was transferred to Leicester for a club record £28 million fee. An Algerian international, Slimani made his international debut in 2012 and played at the

Africa Cup of Nations 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 ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

and

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, and was also a part of the Algeria side that won the 2019 tournament. He was additionally part of Algeria's squad at the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

, where he finished as the team's joint top scorer with two goals. As of January 2024, he has won over 100 international

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

and scored 45 goals, making him Algeria's highest all-time goalscorer.

Club career

Early career

In May 2009, Slimani joined

from

for a transfer fee of 800,000

Algerian dinar The dinar (; sign: DA; code: DZD) is the monetary currency of Algeria and it is subdivided into 100 ''centimes''. Centimes are now obsolete due to their extremely low value. Etymology The name "dinar" is ultimately derived from the Roman denari ...

s, signing a two-year contract. In August, he made his official debut for the club as a starter against

MC Oran (), known as , commonly referred to as MC Oran for short, is an Algerian professional Association football, football club based in Oran. Founded on 1 January 1917, the club was known as Mouloudia Chaâbia Ouahrania from 1971 to 1977, Mouloudia P ...

in the first week of the

2009–10 Algerian Championnat National The 2009–10 Algerian Championnat National, referred to as the Nedjma Algerian Championnat National for sponsorship reasons, was the 48th season of the Algerian Championnat National since its establishment in 1962. A total of 18 teams contested th ...

. He finished his first season with Belouizdad with 8 goals in 30 games. On 17 May 2011, Slimani scored four goals in a league game against

JS Kabylie Jeunesse Sportive de Kabylie (Kabyle grammar, Kabyle: Ilemẓiyen inaddalen n leqvayel; Berber languages, Tamazight: ⵉⵍⵎⵣⵢⵏ ⵉⵏⴰⴷⴰⵍⵏ ⵏ ⵍⵇⵠⴰⵢⵍ; ), known as JS Kabylie or simply JSK, is an Algerian profession ...

, leading CR Belouizdad to an impressive 7–1 win. In July 2011, with his contract expired and several French clubs such as

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

showing interest in signing him, Slimani decided to sign a two-year extension with CR Belouizdad.

Sporting CP

2013–14 season

On 6 August 2013, Slimani joined

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

for an undisclosed fee. He started the 2013–14 season as a substitute, gaining a reputation as an impact player due to him scoring vital goals when coming off the bench. Due to the lack of form of

Fredy Montero Fredy Henkyer Montero Muñoz (born 26 July 1987), known as Fredy Montero (, is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Real Cartagena. He was the all-time top scorer for the Seattle Sounders until being surpassed by Ra� ...

, however, Slimani became a starter and scored four goals in four matches in early March 2014 against

Rio Ave Rio Ave Futebol Clube, commonly known as Rio Ave (), is a Portuguese professional football club based in Vila do Conde, that competes in the Primeira Liga. The club is named after the Ave River, which flows through the town and into the Atlant ...

Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...

Vitória de Setúbal Vitoria or Vitória may refer to: People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Sofia Vitória (bor ...

and in 1–0 over

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

. In December 2013 he was considered the best Algerian footballer of the year as he won the Algerian Golden Ball.

2014–15 season

In his second season Slimani was successful as he became a key player. His first goal of the season was in the

Lisbon derby The Derby de Lisboa or Dérbi de Lisboa (English: Lisbon derby) is the biggest List of association football club rivalries in Europe#Portugal, football derby match in Portugal. It is played between Lisbon-based clubs S.L. Benfica, Benfica and Spo ...

1–1 away draw to Benfica. At European level Slimani scored his first goal against

Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as Schalke 04 (), and abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional sports club from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its football team, w ...

Estádio José Alvalade The Estádio José Alvalade (; ') is a Football (soccer), football stadium in Lisbon, Portugal, home of Sporting Clube de Portugal. It was built adjacent to the site of the Estádio José Alvalade (1956), older stadium. The stadium is named afte ...

in the last minute to finish 4–2 for Sporting. At the end of the season he finished third in the league, but in the Taça de Portugal he reached the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

against

on 31 May 2015, slimani scored a goal helping Sporting turn around a two-goal deficit to eventually secure the

cup A cup is an open-top vessel (container) used to hold liquids for drinking, typically with a flattened hemispherical shape, and often with a capacity of about . Cups may be made of pottery (including porcelain), glass, metal, wood, stone, pol ...

following a penalty shootout 3–1. where he achieved his first title in his history at the end of the season Slimani played 33 games and scored 15 goals, including 12 in the league.

2015–16 season

In the 2015–16 season, Slimani said it would be his last season and that he aspires to achieve the title of the Primeira Liga, which had been absent from the club for 14 years. The new and former Benfica coach

Jorge Jesus Jorge Fernando Pinheiro de Jesus (; born 24 July 1954) is a Portuguese professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player. Most recently he was the manager of Saudi Professional League, Saudi P ...

said he would rely heavily on Slimani to win the titles and the start was in the Supertaça against Benfica and ended for Sporting with a single goal, achieving his second title. At the start of the tournament, Slimani scored his first goal against Académica in an away match on 4 October 2015, and in the seventh round against

Vitória de Guimarães Vitoria or Vitória may refer to: People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Sofia Vitória (bor ...

, he scored his first

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 the Portuguese league. At the top of the 15th round, Slimani managed to score two goals against Porto's goalkeeper

Iker Casillas Iker Casillas Fernández (; born 20 May 1981) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper and currently works as a football commentator. Popularly dubbed "''San Iker''" ("Saint Iker") for his ability to produce miracu ...

to lead the team back to the top of the league. After this game, Slimani scored in four consecutive games 6 goals against

Tondela Tondela () is a concelho, municipality in the Centro, Portugal, central Portugal, Portuguese subregion of Dão-Lafões. The population in 2011 was 28,946, in an area of 371.22 km2. History Local writer and intellectual Amadeu Ferraz de Carv ...

and

Paços de Ferreira Paços de Ferreira () is a city in the Porto District, in the north of Portugal. The population of the city in 2011 was 7491, while its municipality had 56,340 inhabitants, in an area of 70.99 km². Sometimes referred to as the ''Capital do ...

. After two matches, he returned to score twice at

Nacional Nacional, the Portuguese and Spanish word for "national", may refer to: Airlines * Nacional Transportes Aéreos, a Brazilian airline defunct in 2002 * Transportes Aéreos Nacional, a Brazilian airline defunct in 1961 Bank * Banco Nacional, a ...

. Before Sporting's league derby match at home, Benfica lodged a complaint against Slimani for assaulting Andreas Samaris with his elbow in a Portuguese Cup match on 21 November 2015. After a long wait and one day before the match, the Portuguese League announced that Slimani could participate in the decisive match for the title. However, the team lost 1–0 and dropped to second place, behind Benfica. One week later, he scored his 20th goal this season in the match against

Estoril Estoril () is a town in the civil parish of Cascais e Estoril of the Portuguese Municipality of Cascais, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a popular tourist destination, with hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numero ...

. After this meeting, he scored four goals against

Belenenses Clube de Futebol Os Belenenses (), commonly known as Os Belenenses or simply Belenenses, is a Portuguese sports club best known for its football team. Founded in 1919, it is one of the oldest Portuguese sports clubs. It is based in the 19,856 ...

, Marítimo and

Moreirense Moreirense Futebol Clube is a Portuguese professional football club based in Moreira de Cónegos, Guimarães Municipality, Minho. Founded on 1 November 1938, it plays in the Primeira Liga, holding home games at Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim d ...

, and Porto. Slimani contributed to the victory at

Estádio do Dragão The Estádio do Dragão (; ') is an all-seater football stadium in Porto, Portugal, and the home ground of FC Porto since 2003. It has a seating capacity of 50,033, making it the third-largest football stadium in Portugal. Designed by Portugue ...

after scoring two goals. In the final round, he scored his 27th goal of the season against

. The match ended 4–0 but was not enough for Sporting to win the league title, as Benfica ended with more two points. That season, Slimani scored 27 goals in the league but finished behind top scorer

Jonas Jonas may refer to: Geography * Jonas, Netherlands, Netherlands * Jonas, Pennsylvania, United States * Jonas Ridge, North Carolina, United States Arts, entertainment, and media * Jonas Brothers, American pop rock band. ** ''Jonas'' (TV serie ...

, with 32 goals. For the following season, Sporting wanted to retain Slimani but he insisted on leaving the club, and that was finally accepted by the administration. On 28 August 2016, he played his last match against Porto at Estádio José Alvalade and scored his last goal to finish 2–1 for Sporting.

Leicester City

2016–17 season

On 31 August 2016, the last day of the 2016–17 summer transfer window in England, Slimani joined

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

champions

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

on a five-year contract. The transfer fee paid to Sporting was reported as £28 million, a club record for Leicester. Leicester had beaten

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

to sign Slimani. On 14 September, he made his debut for Leicester in the

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 ...

playing 62 minutes in a 3–0 victory over

Club Brugge (), known simply as Club Brugge (in English also: ''Club Bruges''), is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges, Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,042. They pl ...

. Three days later, he made his Premier League debut in a 3–0 victory over

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

, scoring his side's first two goals. On 27 September, Slimani scored the only goal in Leicester's 1–0 win against Porto in the Champions League group stage after a pass from Algerian national teammate

Riyad Mahrez Riyad Karim Mahrez (born 21 February 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Saudi Pro League club Al-Ahli and captains the Algeria national team. He is regarded as one of the best African players of all time. Ma ...

. It was his sixth goal with

in goal in 2016, five of which he netted while with his former club Sporting. After this goal, Slimani failed to score until matchday 11 of the

against West Bromwich Albion from a pass from Mahrez, although Leicester lost 2–1. Later, on matchday 13, after entering as a substitute, Slimani scored the equalizer for his team from the penalty spot in the last minute against

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

. On matchday 15, Slimani helped the Foxes to win against

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 ...

4–2 after he presented two assists for goalscorers

Jamie Vardy Jamie Richard Vardy ( Gill; born 11 January 1987) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for and captains club Leicester City. He will become a free agent on 1 July 2025. After being released by Sheffield Wednesday at ...

and

Andy King Andrew or Andy King may refer to: *Andrew King (astrophysicist) (born 1947), British astrophysicist *Andrew King (architect), Canadian architect and cross-disciplinary artist *Andrew King (mayor) (born 1960 or 1961), former mayor of Hamilton, New Z ...

. On 31 December, after five games without a goal, Slimani scored the winning goal against

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

at the

King Power Stadium King Power Stadium is a football stadium in the city of Leicester, East Midlands, England, and the home of Leicester City. The stadium opened in 2002 as the Walkers Stadium and has a capacity of 32,259. The club attracted worldwide attenti ...

to lead his team to their fifth win in the Premier League that season, on the last day of 2016. Slimani scored four of his five league goals from headers, but had only managed a 38% shot accuracy by January 2017. After his participation in the

, Slimani returned to the club injured, which affected the rest of his season where he did not participate very much and scored only two goals, against

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

and against Everton. In the League Cup match against

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

, he scored two goals.

2017–18 season: Newcastle United (loan)

On 31 January 2018, Slimani signed for

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

on loan until the end of the season. A thigh injury prevented him from making his debut for the club, which eventually happened exactly two months after signing, in a 1–0 win over

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

, and he was involved in the build-up for the only goal of the game, scored by

Ayoze Pérez Ayoze Pérez Gutiérrez (born 29 July 1993) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or left winger for La Liga club Villarreal and the Spain national team. Pérez began his career at hometown club CD Tenerife, ...

. On 15 April, Slimani was again involved in the build-up for the match winning goal in a 2–1 win over

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, after his header was flicked on by Pérez, and into the path of

Matt Ritchie Matthew Thomas Ritchie (born 10 September 1989) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger or wing-back for club Portsmouth. Ritchie represented the Scotland national team from 2015 to 2018. Prior to joining his first club Portsmouth ...

. On 3 May, Slimani was given a three match ban for violent conduct after an off-the-ball incident with

Craig Dawson Craig Dawson (born 6 May 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Wolverhampton Wanderers. He has previously played for Radcliffe Borough, Bolton Wanderers, Rochdale, West Bromwich Albion, Watford and We ...

, effectively ending his season with Newcastle.

Fenerbahçe (loan)

On 11 August 2018, Slimani joined Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe on a season-long loan. He made his debut on 18 August 2018, playing the full 90 minutes in 1–0 loss to

Yeni Malatyaspor Yeni Malatyaspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club based in Malatya. The club plays in the TFF First League, which is the second tier of football in the country. History Founded in 1986 as Malatya Belediyespor. Its primary colo ...

. His first goal for the club came on 1 September 2018 when he scored Fenerbahçe's second goal of their 3–2 loss to

Kayserispor Kayseri Spor Kulübü, commonly known as Kayserispor, and also called Bellona Kayserispor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional football club based in Kayseri. They play their home matches at the RHG Enertürk Enerji Stadium ...

Monaco (loan)

On 21 August 2019, Slimani joined

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 ...

club

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

on a season-long loan. Despite scoring nine goals and seven assists in 18 league games before the Ligue 1 season was abruptly concluded due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

in May, Monaco chose not to give Slimani a permanent contract.

Lyon

On 13 January 2021, Slimani signed with Ligue 1 club

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 ...

. On 18 January 2021, he made his league debut, coming on as a substitute for

Tino Kadewere Philana Tinotenda "Tino" Kadewere (born 5 January 1996) is a Zimbabwean professional footballer who plays as a forward or winger for club Nantes and the Zimbabwe national team. Club career Zimbabwe Kadewere was picked by Harare City in 2 ...

in the 76th minute, in a 0–1 loss to

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

. He scored his first goal for the club on 9 February in a 5–1

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

victory against

Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French language, French: ; or ; , locally: ; ) is the capital and largest city of Corsica, France. It forms a communes of France, French commune, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Corse-du-Sud, and head o ...

. He scored his first league goal for the club on 21 March, after coming on as a substitute, in a 4–2 loss to

Paris Saint Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. With 52 major trophies ...

. On 1 February 2022, Slimani's contract with Lyon was terminated by mutual consent, effectively making him a free agent.

Return to Sporting CP

Slimani returned to Sporting CP immediately after his contract with Lyon was rescinded, signing a one-and-a-half-year contract. He made his comeback on the pitch for ''Leões'' on 6 February 2022, coming off the bench in the 74th minute for

Pedro Porro Pedro Antonio Porro Sauceda (; born 13 September 1999) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a right-back for club Tottenham Hotspur and the Spain national team. Porro started his career with Girona's reserve team Peralada, befor ...

in a 2–0 league victory against Famalicão. His first goal upon returning came on 26 February in a 1–1 away draw on

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

against Marítimo, firing in a cross from

Matheus Reis Matheus Reis de Lima (born 18 February 1995) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a left-back or a centre-back for Primeira Liga club Sporting CP. Club career São Paulo Born in São João da Boa Vista, São Paulo, Reis joined S� ...

Short stints in Europe and Brazil before returning to Algeria

Brest

On 25 August 2022, Slimani signed with Ligue 1 side Brest.

Anderlecht

On 1 February 2023,

club

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

announced the signing of Slimani on a contract until the end of the 2022–23 season.

Coritiba

On 20 August 2023,

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

ian club

Coritiba Coritiba Foot Ball Club, commonly known as Coritiba and colloquially referred to as heCoxa, is a Brazilian football club from Curitiba, capital city of the Brazilian state of Paraná. Founded in 1909 by German immigrants, it is the olde ...

officially announced Slimani's signing with a contract running until December 2024.

Mechelen

On 1 February 2024, Slimani signed for Belgian side

Mechelen Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. T ...

until the end of the 2023–24 season.

Return to CR Belouizdad

In September 2024, Slimani rejoined Algerian club CR Belouizdad.

Loan to Westerlo

On 16 January 2025, Slimani returned to Belgium and signed with

on loan until the end of the 2024–25 season.

International career

In October 2009, Slimani was called up by

Abdelhak Benchikha Abdelhak Benchikha (; born 22 November 1963) is an Algerian football coach and former player. Personal life Benchikha was born on 22 November 1963 in the Soustarah neighborhood of Algiers.

for the first time to the Algeria A' National Team for a week-long training camp in

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

. In March 2010, Slimani was called up again, this time for a 2011 African Nations Championship qualifier against

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

as a replacement for his injured CR Belouizdad teammate

Youcef Saïbi Youcef Saïbi (born 22 August 1982) is an Algerian football player who is currently playing as a forward for NA Hussein Dey in the Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1. Career NA Hussein Dey On 12 August 2011 Saïbi signed a two-year contract with ...

. However, Slimani did not play in the game that Algeria won 1–0. In May 2012, Slimani was called up for the first time to the Algeria national team for the

qualifiers against

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

and

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

, and the return leg of the

2013 Africa Cup of Nations The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange S.A., Orange Africa Cup of Nations South Africa 2013 for sponsorship reasons, held from 19 January to 10 February 2013, was the 29th Africa Cup of Nations, the Association football, footbal ...

qualifier against

Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

. On 26 May, he made his debut, coming as a substitute at half-time in a friendly against

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

. A week later, on 2 June, Slimani scored his first international goal for Algeria, netting the third goal in the 4–0 win over

in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. He followed that up with another goal against Mali in the next game, and then scored another two goals in the following against Gambia. Slimani was selected for Algeria's squad taking part in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, and played in all three group games in January. Algeria, however, only won one point and were eliminated at the first stage. Algeria qualified for the

2014 World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

, with manager

Vahid Halilhodžić Vahid Halilhodžić (; born 15 May 1952) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player. He is regarded as one of the most controversially successful Bosnian football managers, due to his successful tenure in coaching various nation ...

selecting Slimani for his 23-man squad. On 22 June 2014, Slimani scored the opening goal for ''les Fennecs'' in a 4–2 group match against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. He also made an assist for the team's third goal by passing the ball to

Abdelmoumene Djabou Abdelmoumene Djabou (born 31 January 1987) is an Algerian former professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder. An Algerian international since 2010, Djabou was a member of the Algerian teams at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil a ...

. On 26 June, Slimani scored with a header in Algeria's 1–1 draw with

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, helping the nation qualify for the knockout rounds of the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

for the first time ever after failing to do so previously in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

and 2010. In the round of 16 match against

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, Slimani had a headed goal disallowed in the first half for offside, while later on, his powerful shot at goal was saved by German goalkeeper

Manuel Neuer Manuel Peter Neuer (; born 27 March 1986) is a German professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for and captain (association football), captains club FC Bayern Munich, Bayern Munic ...

. Algeria eventually lost 2–1 after extra time, but were praised for an excellent campaign throughout the tournament. In Algeria's opening match of the

2015 Africa Cup of Nations The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, Equatorial Guinea 2015 for sponsorship reasons, was the 30th staging of the Africa Cup of Nations, the international men's football championship of Africa. It was org ...

, Slimani scored the final goal in a 3–1 victory over

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. Slimani was part of the Algeria team that won the

2019 Africa Cup of Nations The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (abbreviated as AFCON 2019 or CAN 2019), known as the Total SE, Total 2019 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 32nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's associati ...

, scoring one goal in the tournament against

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

in the group stage. On 2 September 2021, Slimani scored four goals in an 8–0 thrashing of

Djibouti Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area ...

qualifying Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

for the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

. On 8 October 2021, he scored a brace in a 6–1 heavy victory over

in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying match to become the Algeria's all-time top scorer with 38 goals surpassing

Abdelhafid Tasfaout Abdelhafid Tasfaout (; born 11 February 1969) is an Algerian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He was the captain of the Algeria national team for five years. Career Tasfaout suffered a life-threatening head injury dur ...

who held the record with 36 goals for 19 years since 2002. In December 2023, he was named in Algeria's squad for 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 ...

. He played his 100th match with the national team in the opening match of the African tournament against

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Sporting CP *

: 2014–15 *

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese association football, football match played since 1979 between the winners of the top-tier league (Primeira L ...

Algeria *

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Individual *

Algerian Footballer of the Year The Algerian Footballer of the Year is an annual football award for the best Algerian player presented by El Heddaf-Le Buteur since 2001. The first winner of the award was Olympique de Marseille midfielder Djamel Belmadi. As of 2015, only Karim ...

: 2013 *

SJPF Player of the Month The SJPF Player of the Month (often called Portuguese League Player of the Month) is an association football award that recognizes the best Primeira Liga, Portuguese League player each month of the season and is conceived by the SJPF (syndicate of ...

: December 2015 * Leões/Lions Awards 2016: Player of the Season

References

External links

Profile
at the R.S.C. Anderlecht website * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Slimani, Islam 1988 births Living people Algerian people of Belgian descent Footballers from Algiers Algerian men's footballers Men's association football forwards JSM Chéraga players CR Belouizdad players Sporting CP B players Sporting CP footballers Leicester City F.C. players Newcastle United F.C. players Fenerbahçe S.K. footballers AS Monaco FC players Olympique Lyonnais players Stade Brestois 29 players R.S.C. Anderlecht players Coritiba Foot Ball Club players K.V. Mechelen players K.V.C. Westerlo players Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 players Algerian Ligue 2 players Liga Portugal 2 players Primeira Liga players Premier League players Süper Lig players Ligue 1 players Belgian Pro League players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Algeria men's A' international footballers Algeria men's international footballers 2013 Africa Cup of Nations players 2014 FIFA World Cup players 2015 Africa Cup of Nations players 2017 Africa Cup of Nations players 2019 Africa Cup of Nations players 2021 Africa Cup of Nations players 2023 Africa Cup of Nations players Algerian expatriate men's footballers Algerian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Algerian expatriate sportspeople in England Algerian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Algerian expatriate sportspeople in Monaco Algerian expatriate sportspeople in France Algerian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Monaco Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Brazil 21st-century Algerian sportsmen FIFA Men's Century Club

Club career

Early career

Sporting CP

2013–14 season

2014–15 season

2015–16 season

Leicester City

2016–17 season

2017–18 season: Newcastle United (loan)

Fenerbahçe (loan)

Monaco (loan)

Lyon

Return to Sporting CP

Short stints in Europe and Brazil before returning to Algeria

Brest

Anderlecht

Coritiba

Mechelen

Return to CR Belouizdad

Loan to Westerlo

International career

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

See also

References

External links