Noussair Mazraoui

Noussair Mazraoui (born 14 November 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a full-back for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich. He can also play as a left-back and a winger. Born in Netherlands, he plays for Morocco national team.
Club career
Ajax
Mazraoui grew up in Alphen aan de Rijn and started playing for local club AVV Alphen at age 4. He moved to Alphense Boys three years later, where he only played for a year before being invited to play in the youth academy of Ajax. He made his professional debut with Jong Ajax on 12 August 2016 in an Eerste Divisie game against Almere City, replacing Richairo Živković after 86 minutes.
On 4 February 2018, he made his Eredivisie debut, coming off the bench to substitute David Neres, in a 3–1 victory over NAC Breda. In the following season, on 2 October 2018, he scored his first Champions League goal in a 1–1 away draw against Bayern Munich, followed by the only goal in the 92nd minute of stoppage time in a 1–0 victory over Benfica on 23 October. On 16 December 2018, he netted his first Eredivisie goal in an 8–0 thrashing of De Graafschap. During his breakthrough season, he was named Ajax Talent of the Year, in which he won the domestic double with the club, played in the Champions Legaue semi-finals, and scored four goals in a total of 48 matches.
On 25 October 2020, Mazraoui scored his third Champions League goal in a 3–1 victory against FC Midtjylland, in which Ajax eventually managed to win another domestic double in the 2020–21 season. In the 2021–22 Champions League, he was part of the team which won all their six matches in the group stage. In his last season at Ajax, he managed to score five goals, all in the league, and provide four assists in 35 matches in all competitions.
Bayern Munich
On 24 May 2022, Mazraoui signed a four-year deal with Bayern Munich, starting from 1 July. In January 2023, he had an inflammation in his pericardium after suffering from Covid-19, which would rule him out for six to eight weeks. On 13 May 2023, Mazraoui scored his first goal for the club in a 6–0 win against FC Schalke 04.
International career
Mazraoui was a youth international for Morocco. He first played for the Moroccan national team in 2018.
On 10 November 2021, Mazraoui revealed that the relations between him and Moroccan national team coach Vahid Halilhodžić fell. On 13 March 2022, Mazraoui and his Moroccan teammate, Hakim Ziyech, both rejected Halilhodžić's invitation to represent Morocco in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF third round against DR Congo. He later accepted to join the national team and represented Morocco in the 2022 FIFA World Cup after Halilhodžić was replaced by Walid Regragui.
On 10 November 2022, he was named in Morocco's 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. He played a role in Morocco's charge to the semi-finals, helping them become the first African side to reach the final 4 stage at the World Cup.
Controversies
In May 2023, Mazraoui supported his compatriot Zakaria Aboukhlal, who had refused to wear a T-shirt in support of the LGBT community, with an Instagram comment. At the following home game between FC Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig, fans then showed several banners asking Mazraoui to respect FC Bayern's values.
In October 2023, during the Israel-Hamas war, Mazraoui shared a pro-Palestinian video via Instagram wishing "victory to our oppressed brothers in Palestine", which was met with criticism from Bundestag member Johannes Steiniger who demanded his extradition from the country. Mazraoui then emphasized that he was against all types of terrorism, hatred and violence. A few days later, after a personal conversation with Mazraoui, FC Bayern announced that there would be no consequences. Following a Champions League match against Galatasaray in Istanbul, the club officials held talks with both Mazraoui and teammate Daniel Peretz; in addition, the former expressed willingness to meet members of Makkabi Deutschland.
Career statistics
Club
International
Scores and results list Morocco's goal tally first.
Honours
Ajax
Eredivisie: 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22
KNVB Cup: 2018–19, 2020–21
Johan Cruyff Shield: 2019
Bayern Munich
Bundesliga: 2022–23
DFL-Supercup: 2022
Individual
Eredivisie Talent of the Month: November 2018
Ajax Talent of the Year: 2019
Ajax Goal of the Season: 2021–22
Eredivisie Team of the Year: 2021–22
Orders
Order of the Throne: 2022
References
External links
Noussair Mazraoui at the FC Bayern Munich website
Noussair Mazraoui at the Bundesliga website
Career stats – Voetbal International
1997 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Leiderdorp
Citizens of Morocco through descent
Footballers from South Holland
Moroccan men's footballers
Dutch men's footballers
Dutch sportspeople of Moroccan descent
Men's association football defenders
AFC Ajax players
Jong Ajax players
FC Bayern Munich footballers
Eredivisie players
Eerste Divisie players
Bundesliga players
2019 Africa Cup of Nations players
2022 FIFA World Cup players
Morocco men's international footballers
Morocco men's youth international footballers
Morocco men's under-20 international footballers
Moroccan expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Germany
Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in Germany
Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Germany
Dutch expatriate men's footballers