Mohamed Saïd Benrahma (; born 10 August 1995) 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

left winger 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. ...

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

Neom Neom (styled NEOM; , ) is an arcology and planned city being built by Saudi Arabia in Tabuk Province. Launched in 2017 by crown prince Mohammad bin Salman, the site is at the northern tip of the Red Sea, due east of Egypt across the Gulf of A ...

, and the Algeria national team. Benrahma began his professional career with

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 Angers Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou until the French Revolution. The i ...

, Gazélec and

Châteauroux Châteauroux ( ; ; ) is the capital city of the French department of Indre, central France and the second-largest town in the province of Berry, after Bourges. Its residents are called ''Castelroussins'' () in French. Climate Châteauroux te ...

during his early career. He came to prominence 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 ...

after a move to

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

in 2018, scoring 27 goals in 83 appearances for the West London outfit before moving to the

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 ...

with

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 ...

. In June 2024, Lyon exercised their purchase option and signed him on a permanent basis following a successful loan spell.

Club career

Nice

A winger, Benrahma began his youth career with Algerian club NRB Bethioua, before moving to

France 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 ...

and joining

Balma Balma (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Haute-Garonne Departments of France, department in southwestern France. It is east of Toulouse. The name of the town comes from the old Provençal dialect, Provençal word meaning "cave" or "gr ...

Colomiers Colomiers (; ; Languedocien dialect: ''Colomièrs'') is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in the Occitania region in Southwestern France. With a population of 39,968 as of 2019, it is the largest suburb of the city of Toulouse, to which ...

and then

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

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 Claude Puel Claude Jacques Puel (; born 2 September 1961) is a French football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He spent his entire playing career with Monaco, before becoming manager of the club, leading them to the league title in his ...

during the 2013–14 season, but played most of his football for the club with the

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

, for whom he made 37 appearances and scored 11 goals between 2013 and 2016. Benrahma scored one goal in his three first team appearances during the 2014–15 season and scored a further two in 2015–16. Ankle injuries and the arrival of manager

Lucien Favre Lucien Favre (; born 2 November 1957) is a Swiss professional Association football, football manager and former player who most recently managed club OGC Nice, Nice. Favre was a playmaker for various Swiss and French clubs, the longest for Serve ...

led to Benrahma spending a large portion of his latter career with the club away on

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

, at Ligue 1 club

Angers Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou until the French Revolution. The i ...

and

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

clubs Gazélec and

. Benrahma departed the Stade de Nice in July 2018, having made 18 appearances and scored three goals during his time with the club.

Brentford

On 6 July 2018, Benrahma moved to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

to join

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

club

on a four-year contract, with the option of a further year, for an undisclosed fee, reported to be £2.7 million. He scored his first goal for the club on his third appearance, in a 4–2

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

first round victory over

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...

on 14 August 2018. Six weeks later, Benrahma was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

for the first time in his Bees career after committing two bookable offences during a 2–2 draw with

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

on 29 September. After returning from injury in December, Benrahma broke into the starting lineup and came into form in mid-January 2019, scoring nine goals in 14 league matches. He was nominated for the January and February PFA Fans' Player of the Month awards and one of his three goals in a 5–1 win over

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

was chosen as the Championship Goal of the Month for February and as Brentford's Goal of the Season. An ankle injury suffered in early April 2019 ended Benrahma's season, by which time he had made 45 appearances and scored 11 goals. Benrahma missed Brentford's entire 2019–20

pre-season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of S ...

match programme and returned to competitive play in mid-August 2019, before breaking back into the starting lineup late in the month. During a 2019–20 season in which his performances led to him being voted the Brentford Supporters'

Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year. In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is held on b ...

and named in the Championship

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

, Benrahma made 46 appearances and scored 17 goals, which included two hat-tricks. His performances during Brentford's run to the 2020 Championship play-off final saw him win the January 2020 PFA Fans' Player of the Month and the July 2020

Championship Player of the Month The EFL Championship Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the player adjudged the best for each month of the season in the EFL Championship, the English football league system, second tier of English football. ...

awards. In addition, he was nominated for the 2020 London Football Awards EFL Player of the Year award and the 2019–20 PFA Fans' Championship Player of the Year award. After a second consecutive pre-season of transfer speculation, Benrahma was left out of head coach Thomas Frank's matchday squads early in the 2020–21 regular season, before making his first appearance of the season as a substitute for

Sergi Canós Sergi Canós Tenés (born 2 February 1997) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as winger for club Valencia. Canós began his career in the Barcelona Academy and transferred to the Liverpool Academy in 2013. A fringe player at bot ...

after 73 minutes of a 1–1 draw with

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

on 26 September 2020. He started the following match versus West London rivals

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

in the EFL Cup and his performance and second goal in the 3–0 fourth round victory was recognised with the

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

and Goal of the Round awards respectively.

West Ham United

On 16 October 2020, Benrahma joined

club

on an initial season-long loan deal, with an agreement to make the transfer permanent. On 31 October, he came off the bench and made his debut in a 2–1 loss against

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in a league fixture. He was named in the starting 11 for the first time in a 2–1 win over

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

on 11 December. On 29 January 2021, the loan deal was terminated early as West Ham signed Benrahma on a permanent contract in order to free up a domestic loan space for the incoming Jesse Lingard. The club agreed to pay £25 million plus £5 million in add-ons. The transfer fee made Benrahma West Ham's third most expensive player behind

Sébastien Haller Sébastien Romain Teddy Haller (; born 22 June 1994) is a professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), striker for Eredivisie club FC Utrecht, Utrecht, on loan from Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund ...

and Felipe Anderson. On 15 May 2021, Benrahma scored his first goal for West Ham in a 1–1 away league draw against

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

. On 6 November 2022, he scored a goal in a 2–1 defeat against

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

which was measured as the most powerful Premier League goal of the season, with an average speed of . On 7 June 2023, during the

2023 UEFA Europa Conference League final The 2023 UEFA Europa Conference League final was the final match of the 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League, the second season of Europe's tertiary club association football, football tournament organised by UEFA. The match was played at the F ...

, Benrahma scored West Ham's opening goal, a penalty, in the 62nd minute, against

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...

. West Ham won their first trophy in 43 years with a 2–1 victory. On 1 February 2024, West Ham agreed terms to transfer Benrahma to

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 ...

. The move initially fell through just before the closing of the transfer window as West Ham failed to transfer the necessary papers to the Premier League leading to Lyon accusing West Ham of "demonstrating a profound lack of respect on the part of West Ham towards the institution and the player." However, after an appeal from Lyon that

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

accepted, the deal went through and was officially announced the next day.

Lyon

On 2 February 2024, Benrahma joined Lyon on loan until the end of the season. The club paid £5.1 million for the loan, with a purchase option of €14 million and a 10% interest in the capital gain in the event of a potential future transfer. He completed a permanent transfer to the club, for the €14 million fee, in June 2024.

Neom SC

On 31 January 2025, Benrahma joined second-tier

Saudi First Division The Saudi First Division League (), currently known as the Yelo League for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of Football in Saudi Arabia, professional football in Saudi Arabia. It ranks below the Saudi Pro League and above the Saudi Second ...

side Neom SC on loan until the end of the season. A €12 million purchase option with bonuses up to €3 million will be available should Neom SC gain promotion to the

International career

In September 2015, Benrahma was called up to the Algeria national team for friendly matches against

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

and

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

. He made his debut in the match versus Senegal on 13 October 2015, when he came on as a substitute for Baghdad Bounedjah after 70 minutes of the 1–0 victory. One month later, Benrahma was called into the squad for two 2018 World Cup second round qualifiers versus

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 ...

, but did not make an appearance. Benrahma's club form at Brentford during the 2018–19 season was recognised with a call-up for two 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. He won his second international cap with a start in a 1–0 win over

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 ...

on 26 March 2019. He was named in Algeria's preliminary squad for 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 ...

, but was forced to withdraw due to injury. Benrahma scored his first international goal in a 4–0 away win against

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 ...

on 12 November 2021 in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. He was named in Algeria's squad for the

2021 Africa Cup of Nations The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (also referred to as AFCON 2021 or CAN 2021), known as the TotalEnergies 2021 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's ass ...

Personal life

Benrahma was born in

Aïn Témouchent Aïn Témouchent () is a city in north-western Algeria, it is the capital of Aïn Témouchent Province. Aïn Témouchent is located 72 km (or 44.7 miles) south-west of Oran, a city with which it is closely associated, and 63 km (or 39.1 miles) w ...

and grew up in

Sidi Bel Abbès Sidi Bel Abbès (), also called Bel Abbès, is the capital''Sidi Bel Abbes'', lexicorient.com (Encyclopaedia of the Orient), internet article. of the Sidi Bel Abbès wilaya, Algeria. It is named after Sidi bel Abbass, a Muslim marabout or noble ...

. He moved to

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

, France with his parents at the age of 11 and holds French nationality. Benrahma's father died in January 2020 and he publicly dedicated each of his subsequent five goals to him.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Algeria'a goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Benrahma goal.''

Honours

West Ham United *

UEFA Europa Conference League The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual association football, football competition organised since 2021 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European foot ...

: 2022–23 Lyon *

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 ...

runner-up: 2023–24 Individual * PFA Fans' Player of the Month: January 2020 * EFL Championship Player of the Month:

July 2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns, and the largest economic recession since the Great Depr ...

* Brentford Supporters' Player of the Year: 2019–20 * Championship PFA Team of the Year: 2019–20 * Premier League Most Powerful Goal: 2022–23

References

External links

Saïd Benrahma
at

West Ham United F.C. West Ham United Football Club is a professional football club based in Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, having moved from their ...

archive
* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Benrahma, Saïd 1995 births Living people People from Aïn Témouchent Sportspeople from Aïn Témouchent Province Men's association football wingers Men's association football forwards Algerian men's footballers Algeria men's international footballers French men's footballers Naturalized citizens of France Balma SC players US Colomiers Football players OGC Nice players Angers SCO players Gazélec Ajaccio players LB Châteauroux players Brentford F.C. players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Championnat National 2 players Algerian expatriate men's footballers Algerian emigrants to France Algerian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England English Football League players West Ham United F.C. players Premier League players 2021 Africa Cup of Nations players UEFA Conference League–winning players Olympique Lyonnais players 21st-century French sportsmen