# Houssem Aouar

Houssem-Eddine Chaâbane Aouar (Arabic: حُسَام الدِّين شَعْبَان عَوَار; born 30 June 1998) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad. Born in France, he plays for the Algeria national team.
Graduating from the youth setup of Lyon, Aouar spent his professional career at the club for seven seasons before he joined the Italian club Roma in 2023. After playing one season with the Italian club, he joined the Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad in 2024.
Aouar is a former youth international for France. He made one appearance for the country at senior level before switching his allegiance to Algeria in 2023. He represented the latter country at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

## Early life

Houssem-Eddine Chaâbane Aouar was born on 30 June 1998 in Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, to parents from Béni Saf in Algeria. He grew up in Villeurbane.

## Club career
### Lyon

Aouar joined the Olympique Lyonnais Academy in 2009 at the age of 11.
He signed a three-year professional contract at Lyon in July 2016. He made his first team debut in on 16 February 2017 in a 1–4 away win over AZ Alkmaar in the first-leg match of the round of 32 of the knockout phase of the UEFA Europa League, replacing Sergi Darder after 84 minutes. Aouar scored his first goal for Lyon's first team a week later in the second-leg match against AZ Alkmaar at Parc Olympique Lyonnais, which Lyon won 7–1. He made his Ligue 1 debut by starting in the away match against Bastia on 16 April 2017, but the match was abandoned at half-time with the score at 0–0. A win was given to Lyon three weeks later. He was nominated for the Golden Boy award in July 2018.
At the beginning of the 2017–18 season, despite having played only five competitive matches for Lyon's first team since he joined the club, Aouar was given the symbolic number 8 (having previously been worn by club legend Juninho) left free when Corentin Tolisso left the club for Bayern Munich in June 2017.
On 11 December 2019, Aouar scored a goal against RB Leipzig in a Champions League group stage match helping Lyon to secure their way into the Champions League round of 16. His side later upset both Juventus and Manchester City to reach the semi-finals, where they were beaten by Bayern Munich.

### Roma

On 11 June 2023, it was announced that Aouar had signed a five-year contract with Serie A club Roma. Later that year, on 26 August, he scored his first goal in a 2–1 away defeat against Hellas Verona.

### Al-Ittihad

On 16 July 2024, Aouar signed for Saudi club Al-Ittihad for a reported fee of €12 million.

## International career
### France

In 2014, Aouar was called up to the France under-17 national team, but only played one game. In 2019, he was a starter throughout the UEFA European Under-21 Championship for the France under-21 national team, eventually being eliminated by Spain in the semi-finals.
In November 2019, Aouar was called up to the France national team, but was unable to join the team due to suffering an injury. He was not replaced in the squad. On 26 August 2020, Aouar received his first call-up for France to prepare for 2020–21 UEFA Nations League matches against Sweden and Croatia in early September. However, on 27 August, he tested positive for COVID-19 during a regular test carried out by Lyon, amid its pandemic in France; he was put into isolation for a fortnight and had to skip training for at least 10 to 15 days. Therefore, France decided to replace him with Nabil Fekir. Aouar eventually made his France debut on 7 October 2020 in a 7–1 friendly win over Ukraine.

### Algeria

In March 2023, Aouar switched his international allegiance from his birth to the football federation of the country of his parents, Algeria. In an interview with the Algerian Football Federation, he said, "the president held out his hand to me and it seemed like it was just meant to be. I had a second chance and I jumped on it." He also added that he "regretted" having played for France, saying that he felt he "hadn't made the best choice". On 18 June 2023, he made his debut for Algeria against Uganda in the African Cup of Nations qualification match.
In December 2023, he was named in Algeria's squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

## Style of play

Aouar is a versatile attacking midfielder who can play anywhere in midfield, and has been praised for his excellent technical ability and calmness with the ball at his feet.

## Personal life

Aouar holds French and Algerian nationalities. He holds Juninho and Zinedine Zidane as role models. He is a Muslim.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 13 March 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | League cup | League cup | Continental | Continental | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Lyon B | 2015–16 | CFA | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 0 |
| Lyon B | 2016–17 | CFA | 15 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 15 | 4 |
| Lyon B | 2017–18 | Championnat National 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 |
| Lyon B | Total | Total | 22 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 22 | 4 |
| Lyon | 2016–17 | Ligue 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| Lyon | 2017–18 | Ligue 1 | 32 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 44 | 7 |
| Lyon | 2018–19 | Ligue 1 | 37 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 47 | 7 |
| Lyon | 2019–20 | Ligue 1 | 25 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 41 | 9 |
| Lyon | 2020–21 | Ligue 1 | 30 | 7 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 33 | 8 |
| Lyon | 2021–22 | Ligue 1 | 36 | 6 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 2 | 45 | 8 |
| Lyon | 2022–23 | Ligue 1 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 18 | 1 |
| Lyon | Total | Total | 179 | 30 | 15 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 34 | 5 | 233 | 41 |
| Roma | 2023–24 | Serie A | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | 25 | 4 |
| Al-Ittihad | 2024–25 | Saudi Pro League | 22 | 10 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 24 | 10 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 239 | 48 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 43 | 5 | 304 | 59 |
* ↑ Includes Coupe de France, Coppa Italia, King Cup
* ↑ Includes Coupe de la Ligue
* 1 2 3 4 Appearances in UEFA Europa League
* 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Champions League

### International

    As of match played 10 October 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| France | 2020 | 1 | 0 |
| France | Total | 1 | 0 |
| Algeria | 2023 | 5 | 2 |
| Algeria | 2024 | 9 | 4 |
| Algeria | Total | 14 | 6 |
| Career total | Career total | 15 | 6 |
    Algeria score listed first, score column indicates score after each Aouar goal
List of international goals scored by Houssem Aouar :
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 12 October 2023 | Chahid Hamlaoui Stadium, Constantine, Algeria | Cape Verde | 2–0 | 5–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 12 October 2023 | Chahid Hamlaoui Stadium, Constantine, Algeria | Cape Verde | 3–0 | 5–1 | Friendly |
| 3 | 10 June 2024 | Mandela National Stadium, Kampala, Uganda | Uganda | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 4 | 5 September 2024 | Miloud Hadefi Stadium, Oran, Algeria | Equatorial Guinea | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 5 | 10 October 2024 | 19 May 1956 Stadium, Annaba, Algeria | Togo | 3–1 | 5–1 | 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |

## Honours

Lyon
* Coupe de la Ligue runner-up: 2019–20
Individual
* UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season: 2019–20