Sofiane Boufal (; born 17 September 1993) is a French-Moroccan 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 winger or

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. ...

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

Union Saint-Gilloise Royale Union Saint-Gilloise (), also known as Union Saint-Gilloise, Union SG or simply Union, is a Belgian professional football club from Brussels based in Forest. Founded in 1897 in the neighbouring Saint-Gilles, the club has played its home ...

. Born in France, he plays for the Morocco national team.

Early life

Boufal was born in the

17th arrondissement of Paris The 17th arrondissement of Paris (''XVIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ''le dix-septième'' (; "the seventeenth"). The arrondissement, known as Batignol ...

, to Moroccan parents. He acquired

French nationality French nationality law is historically based on the principles of ''jus soli'' (Latin for "right of soil") and ''jus sanguinis'', (Latin for "right of blood") according to Ernest Renan's definition, in opposition to the German definition of nat ...

on 31 January 2006, through the collective effect of his parents'

naturalization Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

. He grew up in

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 ...

Club career

Angers

Boufal came through the

youth system, making his debut for the club at the age of 18, replacing Rayan Frikeche in the closing stages of a 1–0 home loss to

Istres Istres (; Occitan: Istre) is a commune in southern France, some 60 km (38 mi) northwest of Marseille. It is in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture. Location I ...

in August 2012. He made his first ever professional start the next

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 ...

season, in a 4–2 win away at Istres, becoming a regular that season, making 31 appearances in all competitions. In the 2014–15 season, he helped Angers win promotion to

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 ...

. He racked up a total of 4 goals in 16 appearances in the first half of the season, before attracting interest from Ligue 1 clubs.

Lille

On 9 January 2015, Boufal transferred to

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

in Ligue 1, instantly making an impression, scoring 3 goals in 14 league games. The next season, he continued to impress, scoring 12 goals in 35 appearances in all competitions and attracted interest from some of the biggest clubs around the world.

Southampton

On 29 August 2016,

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

announced they had signed Boufal on a five-year contract for a club-record undisclosed fee. The fee was reported as £16 million, slightly more than the £15 million paid to

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 ...

for

Dani Osvaldo Pablo Daniel "Dani" Osvaldo (; born 12 January 1986) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Born and raised in Argentina, Osvaldo represented the Italy national team internationally. Osvaldo began his career at Huracán ...

in October 2013. In the 2016–17 season, Boufal scored only one League Cup goal and one

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 ...

goal; his strike in Saints' 26 October 2016 1–0 win over

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 ...

in the fourth round of the League Cup won Southampton's Goal of the Season award. On 21 October 2017, Boufal scored a virtuoso 85th-minute goal in a home tie against

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 lead his team to a 1–0 victory and send them into the top half of the Premier League. Having come on as a substitute in the 80th minute, he gained possession deep within his own half and took the ball past six opposing players before sending it past keeper Ben Foster from just inside the box. This goal was voted the 2017–18 Premier League Goal of the Season. In July 2018, Boufal joined

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

side Celta Vigo on loan for the 2018–19 campaign. After returning to Southampton for the 2019–20 season, he played in 10 of his team's 13 league games before injuring his toe at his home, when he ran into a kitchen table.

Return to Angers

On 5 October 2020, Boufal returned to his first club

on a free transfer.

Al-Rayyan

On 31 January 2023, Boufal joined Qatari club

Al-Rayyan SC Al-Rayyan Sports Club () is a Qatari multi-sports club fielding teams in a number of sports such as football, futsal, basketball, volleyball, handball, athletics, table tennis, and swimming. It is based at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Umm ...

on a three-and-a-half-year contract. Boufal made his debut against

Al-Gharafa SC Al-Gharafa Sports Club () is a Qatari multi-sports club based in the Al Gharrafa district of Al Rayyan municipality. The club is best known for its football team, although it also has teams for other sports. The club was established on 6 June ...

and scored his first goal for the club against

Al-Duhail SC Al-Duhail Sports Club (), formerly Lekhwiya SC, is a Qatari sports club, best known for its football team, which plays in the Qatar Stars League. The club is based in the Duhail district in the city of Doha and plays its home games at Abdulla ...

Royale Union Saint-Gilloise

On 3 September 2024, Boufal joined Belgian club

Union SG Royale Union Saint-Gilloise (), also known as Union Saint-Gilloise, Union SG or simply Union, is a Belgian professional football club from Brussels based in Forest. Founded in 1897 in the neighbouring Saint-Gilles, the club has played its home ...

International career

Boufal made his debut for the Morocco national team on 26 March 2016 starting in a 1–0 African Cup of Nations qualification victory against

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

. Boufal withdrew from Morocco's squad for the

2017 Africa Cup of Nations The 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (abbreviated as AFCON 2017 or CAN 2017), known as the Total 2017 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 31st edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's football champions ...

due to injury. He was also unexpectedly omitted from the final squad for the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

by coach

Hervé Renard Hervé Jean-Marie Roger Renard (born 30 September 1968) is a French professional football coach and former player who is the head coach of Saudi Arabia. Renard has previously been the manager of Zambia national team, with whom he won the 2012 ...

. Boufal represented Morocco at 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 ...

. He was one of two Moroccan players to fail to score in their 4–1 penalty shootout defeat to

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

in the Round of 16. He scored his first international goal in a 4–1 win over Guineau in the

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification was the FIFA World Cup qualification, qualifying process which decided the 31 teams that would join hosts Qatar national football team, Qatar, who received an automatic spot, at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Par ...

. On 10 November 2022, he was named in Morocco's 26-man squad 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 ...

in Qatar.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Morocco's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Boufal goal.''

Honours

Lille *

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: 2015–16 Southampton *

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 ...

runner-up: 2016–17 Union SG *

: 2024–25 Individual *

Prix Marc-Vivien Foé The Prix Marc-Vivien Foé is an annual award in honour to the late Marc-Vivien Foé, given to the African player deemed to have performed the best over the previous season in Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's ...

2016 *

Premier League Goal of the Month The Premier League Goal of the Month is an association football award that recognises the player who is deemed to have scored the best Premier League goal each month of the season from August to April. The winner is chosen by a combination of ...

: October 2017 *

Premier League Goal of the Season The Premier League Goal of the Season is an annual football award for the player deemed to have scored the best goal in the preceding Premier League season. The shortlist features each of the season's nine Premier League Goal of the Month win ...

: 2017–18 * Goal of the decade at

: 2010–2020 Orders *

Order of the Throne The Order of the Throne () is a state decoration of the Kingdom of Morocco awarded for distinguished services of a civil or military nature. The Order was instituted on 16 May 1963 by King Hassan II of Morocco, who reigned between 1961 and 199 ...

: 2022

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boufal, Sofiane 1993 births Living people Footballers from Angers Naturalized citizens of France French sportspeople of Moroccan descent French men's footballers Moroccan men's footballers 21st-century Moroccan sportsmen Morocco men's international footballers Men's association football midfielders Angers SCO players Lille OSC players Southampton F.C. players RC Celta de Vigo players Al-Rayyan SC players Royale Union Saint-Gilloise players Ligue 2 players Championnat National 3 players Ligue 1 players Premier League players La Liga players Qatar Stars League players Belgian Pro League players 2019 Africa Cup of Nations players 2021 Africa Cup of Nations players 2022 FIFA World Cup players 2023 Africa Cup of Nations players French expatriate men's footballers Moroccan expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England French expatriate sportspeople in England Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in Spain French expatriate sportspeople in Spain Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Qatar French expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium French expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in Belgium 21st-century French sportsmen