Omar Rekik (; born 20 December 2001) 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

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for

Slovenian PrvaLiga The Slovenian PrvaLiga (, ), currently named Prva liga Telemach due to sponsorship reasons, also known by the abbreviation 1. SNL, is the top level of the Slovenian football league system. Contested by ten clubs, it operates on a system of prom ...

club

Maribor Maribor ( , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is the seat of the ...

. Born in the Netherlands, he represented the Tunisia national team internationally.

Early life

Born in

Helmond Helmond (; called ''Hèllemond'' in the local dialect) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Metropoolregio Eindhoven of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of ...

, Netherlands to a Tunisian father and a Dutch mother, Rekik was part of several big European clubs during his youth career, following his brother

Karim Kareem (alternatively spelled Karim, Kerim or Karem) () is a given name and surname of Arabic origin that means "generous", "noble", "honourable". It is also one of the Names of God. Given name Karim * Karim Abdel Aziz (born 1975), Egyptian ac ...

from

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Netherlands, Dutch professional association football, football club based in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football league system, Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the ...

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 ...

, then PSV and

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, before joining

Hertha Berlin Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC () or Hertha Berlin, is a German professional football club based in Berlin. Hertha BSC plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football, following relegation from t ...

in 2017. However, their careers eventually split during the 2020–21 season, as Omar was transferred from the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

side to

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 ...

in January 2021, while Karim joined Spanish side

Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...

a few months earlier.

Club career

On 31 January 2023, Rekik joined

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

in the

EFL 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 divi ...

on loan until the end of the season. On 1 September 2023, he re-joined Wigan Athletic in

EFL League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...

on a short-term loan deal until January 2024. On 2 February 2024, Rekik moved on a new loan to

Servette Servette is a district of the city of Geneva, Switzerland. The district's name comes from the Latin word for forest, ''silva'', and means "little forest". Its name alludes to Servette's rural past, before Geneva grew beyond its walls and incorpora ...

in Switzerland, with an option to buy.

International career

While his brother

was already capped for the senior Netherlands national team, Omar was first selected in the

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

under-21 selection in October 2018, aged just 16, before joining the Netherlands under-18 a month later. Rekik eventually decided to join the Tunisia national team in May 2021, as he was selected by

Mondher Kebaier Mondher Kebaier (; born 2 April 1970) is a Tunisian association football, football coach and former player who is the manager of Club Africain. Career Formerly a player at hometown club CA Bizertin, Kebaier became manager of the club in 2000, f ...

along with other young players such as

Hannibal Mejbri Hannibal Mejbri (; born 21 January 2003) is a Tunisian professional association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Burnley F.C., Burnley and the Tunisia national football team, Tunisia national team. Mejbri joined the Manch ...

. He made his international senior debut on 15 June 2021, starting as a midfielder in a 1–0 friendly win 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 ...

Career statistics

References

External links

*
Omar Rekik

KNVB The Royal Dutch Football Association (, ; KNVB ) is the governing body of football in the Netherlands. It organises the main Dutch football leagues (Eredivisie and Eerste Divisie), the amateur leagues, the KNVB Cup, and the Dutch men's and women ...

profile {{DEFAULTSORT:Rekik, Omar 2001 births Living people Footballers from Helmond Tunisian men's footballers Tunisia men's youth international footballers Tunisia men's international footballers Netherlands men's youth international footballers 21st-century Dutch sportsmen Tunisian people of Dutch descent Dutch people of Tunisian descent Men's association football central defenders Feyenoord players Manchester City F.C. players Olympique de Marseille players Hertha BSC players Arsenal F.C. players Sparta Rotterdam players Jong Sparta players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Servette FC players NK Maribor players Tunisian expatriate men's footballers Tunisian expatriate sportspeople in England Tunisian expatriate sportspeople in France Tunisian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Tunisian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland Expatriate men's footballers in Slovenia Regionalliga players Eredivisie players Tweede Divisie players English Football League players Slovenian PrvaLiga players 2021 Africa Cup of Nations players