# Mbark Boussoufa

Moubarak "Mbark" Boussoufa (Arabic: مُبارك بوصوفة; born 15 August 1984) is a former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or winger. He won the Belgian Golden Shoe in 2006, 2009, and 2010. Born in the Netherlands, he played for the Morocco national team from 2006 to 2019 making 70 appearances and scoring eight goals.

## Club career

Boussoufa started off at the youth academy of Ajax before joining Chelsea F.C. He spent the 2005–06 season with K.A.A. Gent, winning several prizes in 2006: Belgian Golden Shoe, Belgian Footballer of the Year, Belgian Young Footballer of the Year and Belgian Ebony Shoe.
In June 2006, Boussoufa signed a four-year contract with R.S.C. Anderlecht after a €3.5 million transfer. In his first season he was a regular in the title-clinching squad. He became a key player for the team that finished second in both the 2007–2008 and the 2008–09 seasons. Boussoufa was named Belgian Footballer of the Year for a second time after the 2008–09 season in which Anderlecht barely missed out on the title, losing the Championship play-off against Standard de Liège. The next year, he managed 14 goals and 24 assists which made him the most valuable player in Anderlecht's championship-winning squad. He was named Belgian Footballer of the Year for a second consecutive time and the third time overall. After the season, he renewed his contract with a significant raise, making him the best paid footballer in Belgium. He won the Belgian Golden Shoe for the second time in 2010.
In March 2011, Russian side FC Terek Grozny announced his signing, but his transfer fell through three days later. Instead, Boussoufa signed for another Russian team, Anzhi Makhachkala.
Boussoufa signed a three-year contract with FC Lokomotiv Moscow in August 2013. With Lokomotiv he won the 2015 Russian Cup, scoring the second goal as they beat Kuban Krasnodar 3–1 after extra time in the final. He returned to K.A.A. Gent on loan from in February 2016.
In July 2016, Boussoufa signed a two-year contract with UAE club Al Jazira. He made 16 appearances and scored three times as Al-Jazira went on to win the 2016-17 UAE Arabian Gulf League.
On 3 January 2019, Boussoufa signed a contract until the end season with Saudi club Al-Shabab.

## International career

Eligible to play for both Morocco and The Netherlands, Boussoufa chose to represent Morocco and made his international debut against the USA on 23 May 2006.
Boussoufa has represented Morocco at Africa Cup of Nations tournaments; in 2012, 2017 and 2019.
In May 2018, he was named in Morocco's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, where he was a starting player in all three of their games.
On 5 July 2019, Boussoufa announced his retirement after Morocco's loss against Benin in the round of 16, 4–1 in penalties (following a 1–1 draw), in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

## Career statistics
### Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Cup | Cup | Continental | Continental | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Gent | 2004–05 | Belgian First Division | 29 | 5 | 3 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 32 | 5 |
| Gent | 2005–06 | Belgian First Division | 28 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1 | – | – | 38 | 11 |
| Gent | 2006–07 | Belgian First Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 4 | 0 |
| Gent | Total | Total | 59 | 14 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 74 | 16 |
| Anderlecht | 2006–07 | Belgian First Division | 33 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 0 | – | – | 46 | 10 |
| Anderlecht | 2007–08 | Belgian First Division | 22 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 0 | – | – | 35 | 8 |
| Anderlecht | 2008–09 | Belgian First Division | 33 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 11 |
| Anderlecht | 2009–10 | Belgian First Division | 26 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 3 | 10 | 5 | 53 | 18 |
| Anderlecht | 2010–11 | Belgian First Division | 23 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 1 | – | – | 35 | 11 |
| Anderlecht | Total | Total | 137 | 43 | 23 | 6 | 36 | 4 | 12 | 5 | 208 | 58 |
| Anzhi | 2011–12 | Russian Premier League | 25 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 3 | 39 | 7 |
| Anzhi | 2012–13 | Russian Premier League | 26 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 2 | – | – | 44 | 6 |
| Anzhi | 2013–14 | Russian Premier League | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 4 | 0 |
| Anzhi | Total | Total | 55 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 13 | 3 | 87 | 13 |
| Lokomotiv Moscow | 2013–14 | Russian Premier League | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 21 | 2 |
| Lokomotiv Moscow | 2014–15 | Russian Premier League | 17 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 21 | 4 |
| Lokomotiv Moscow | 2015–16 | Russian Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 |
| Lokomotiv Moscow | Total | Total | 39 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 6 |
| Gent | 2015–16 | Belgian Pro League | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 2 |
| Al Jazira | 2016–17 | UAE Pro-League | 21 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 8 |
| Al Jazira | 2017–18 | UAE Pro-League | 16 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 31 | 3 |
| Al Jazira | Total | Total | 37 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 60 | 11 |
| Al-Shabab | 2018–19 | Saudi Pro League | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 |
| Al-Sailiya | 2019–20 | Qatar Stars League | 15 | 3 | | | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 3 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 360 | 81 | 45 | 13 | 77 | 8 | 31 | 8 | 512 | 110 |
* ↑ Appearance in UAE Super Cup
* ↑ One appearance in UAE Super Cup, four appearances in FIFA Club World Cup

### International

Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Morocco | 2006 | 5 | 1 |
| Morocco | 2007 | 2 | 0 |
| Morocco | 2008 | 3 | 0 |
| Morocco | 2009 | 5 | 0 |
| Morocco | 2010 | 3 | 0 |
| Morocco | 2011 | 7 | 3 |
| Morocco | 2012 | 5 | 1 |
| Morocco | 2013 | 0 | 0 |
| Morocco | 2014 | 5 | 1 |
| Morocco | 2015 | 1 | 0 |
| Morocco | 2016 | 6 | 0 |
| Morocco | 2017 | 13 | 1 |
| Morocco | 2018 | 8 | 0 |
| Morocco | 2019 | 7 | 1 |
| Total | Total | 70 | 8 |
    Scores and results list Morocco's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Boussoufa goal.
List of international goals scored by Mbark Boussoufa :
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 2 September 2006 | Stade Moulay Abdellah, Rabat, Morocco | Malawi | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 2 | 9 February 2011 | Stade de Marrakech, Marrakech, Morocco | Niger | 1–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 3 | 9 February 2011 | Stade de Marrakech, Marrakech, Morocco | Niger | 2–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 4 | 9 October 2011 | Stade de Marrakech, Marrakech, Morocco | Tanzania | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 5 | 29 February 2012 | Stade de Marrakech, Marrakech, Morocco | Burkina Faso | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 6 | 13 October 2014 | Stade de Marrakech, Marrakech, Morocco | Kenya | 2–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 7 | 31 May 2017 | Stade Adrar, Agadir, Morocco | Netherlands | 1–2 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 8 | 1 July 2019 | Al Salam Stadium, Cairo, Egypt | South Africa | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2019 Africa Cup of Nations |

## Honours

Anderlecht
* Belgian Pro League: 2006–07, 2009–10
* Belgian Cup: 2007–08
* Belgian Super Cup: 2007, 2010
Anzhi Makhachkala
* Russian Cup runners-up: 2012–13
Lokomotiv Moscow
* Russian Cup: 2014–15
Al Jazira
* UAE Pro League: 2016–17
Individual
* Best Gent player of the Season: 2005–06
* Belgian Young Professional Footballer of the Year: 2005–06
* Belgian Professional Footballer of the Year: 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10
* Man of the Season (Belgian First Division): 2005–06
* Belgian Ebony Shoe: 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10
* Belgian Golden Shoe: 2006, 2009, 2010
* Belgian Lion Award: 2010, 2011