Yassine Bounou

Yassine Bounou (born 5 April 1991), also known as Bono, is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal and the Morocco national team.
Bono began his youth career in Morocco, playing for Wydad AC. He spent most of his senior career in Spain, making over 150 La Liga appearances for Girona and Sevilla, and over 50 in the Segunda División for Zaragoza and Girona. He won two UEFA Europa League and Zamora Trophy with Sevilla.
Born in Canada to Moroccan parents, Bono returned to Morocco at the age of three with his family. He has been a full international for Morocco since 2013. Having previously played for the under-23 team at the 2012 Olympics, he has represented his nation at two FIFA World Cup and three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.
Club career
Early career
Bounou was born in Montreal, Quebec to Moroccan parents. His father is originally from the region of Taounate. Bounou and his parents moved to Casablanca, Morocco when he was 3 years old. He began playing in the streets as a child and joined Wydad AC at 8 years old in 1999. He liked to play using his feet, but due to his height it was later suggested he become a goalkeeper; a challenge he accepted. His goalkeeping idols were Gianluigi Buffon and Edwin van der Sar. His parents initially had mixed feelings regarding their son spending so much time playing football, but they later became more supportive as his talent became more evident. At 17 years old, his goalkeeping skills were spotted by a scout from OGC Nice, and he signed with the club; however due to bureaucratic problems he ended up not playing for Nice, and he returned to Wydad AC. In 2011, he made his senior debut in the club, after having been promoted to the first-team a year earlier.
Atlético Madrid
On 14 June 2012, Bounou moved to La Liga club Atlético Madrid, being initially assigned to the reserves in Segunda División B. He appeared regularly for the team on the bench as a third keeper, and signed a new four-year deal on 31 May 2013. In the summer of 2014, after profiting from Thibaut Courtois and Daniel Aranzubia's departures, he was definitively promoted to the main squad. He made his first-team debut on 24 July 2014, in a 1–0 pre-season friendly win against Numancia.
Zaragoza
On 1 September 2014, Bounou was loaned to the Segunda División's Real Zaragoza, in a season-long deal. Kept out by Óscar Whalley for the first half of the campaign, he made his debut the following 11 January in a 5–3 loss at UD Las Palmas, and finished the season with 16 appearances. In the play-offs, after Whalley's performance led to a 0–3 home loss to Girona FC in the first leg, Bounou replaced him in the second for a 4–1 win and advancement on away goals; Zaragoza lost the final by the same rule to UD Las Palmas. On 23 July 2015, he returned to the Aragonese side, again in a one-year loan deal.
Girona
On 12 July 2016, Bounou signed a permanent two-year contract with fellow league team Girona. He played exactly half of games in his first season – sharing with René Román – as they were promoted in second place. In January 2019, now first choice at the top-flight club, he extended his contract until June 2021.
Sevilla
On 2 September 2019, after suffering relegation with the Catalans, Bounou joined Sevilla in the top tier, on loan for one year. Second-choice to Tomáš Vaclík in the league season, he played regularly in the domestic cup and as the side won the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League, earning plaudits for his performance against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the quarter-finals as he saved a penalty from Raúl Jiménez to earn a 1–0 win, also in the 2–1 semi-final win over Manchester United, and eventually his decisive save of Romelu Lukaku's one-on-one strike, to win the final 3–2 against Inter Milan.
On 4 September 2020, Bounou signed a permanent four-year contract with the Andalusians. The following 21 March, in the last minute of a match against Real Valladolid, he scored his first goal as a professional goalkeeper to secure a 1–1 draw.
In the year 2021, Bounou kept 32 clean sheets in 59 games for club and country, the most for any goalkeeper in Europe's top five leagues. Second place was Ederson of Manchester City and Brazil, with 30 in 59.
On 27 February 2022, Bounou assisted a goal by international teammate Munir El Haddadi in a 2–1 win over Real Betis in the Seville derby, With this pass, Bono reached his fourth contribution with Seville (three passes and a goal). In April, his contract was extended by one year to 2025. Bounou was nominated for The Best FIFA Men's Goalkeeper in 2022 along with Emiliano Martínez and Thibaut Courtois, in which he eventually finished in third place.
On 31 May 2023, Bounou was named Player of the Match in the Europa League final against Roma, where he managed to save two penalty kicks in a 4–1 victory for Sevilla in the penalty shootouts after a 1–1 draw, which secured their seventh title in the competition.
Al-Hilal
On 17 August 2023, Bounou joined Riyadh-based side Al-Hilal on a three-year contract. In 2023, Bounou has been nominated for the 2023 Ballon d'Or and The 2023 Best FIFA Football Awards. On 30 October 2023, Bounou was ranked 13th place in the 2023 Ballon d'Or and ranked 3rd in the 2023 Yashin Trophy. On 1 November 2023, Bounou was nominated for the 2023 African Footballer of the Year and 2023 African Goalkeeper of the Year by CAF.
International career
Bounou was eligible to represent Canada or Morocco, but opted to represent the latter, appearing with the under-20 team at the 2012 Toulon Tournament, playing in one match during the competition. He was also selected in the 18-man under-23 squad for the 2012 Summer Olympics, but acted as a backup to Mohamed Amsif during the tournament, in which Morocco were eliminated at the group stage.
In an interview, Bounou said that he had been contacted by the manager of the Canada national team, Benito Floro, but that this ultimately did not materialise. Moreover, he said to the interviewer that he grew up in Morocco, and deep down dreamed of representing the Moroccan national team.
On 14 August 2013, Bounou was called up to the main squad for a friendly match against Burkina Faso. He made his debut in the following day, playing the entire second half of an eventual 1–2 defeat in Tangier.
In May 2018, Bounou was named in Morocco's 23-man squad for the World Cup in Russia, At the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt he was first choice for Hervé Renard's team, keeping clean sheets in 1–0 wins over Namibia and the Ivory Coast to qualify for the last 16.
Bounou was also called up for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon. At the tournament, he made headlines for his defense of Arabic and refusal to speak to the press in French or English; a jab at the African Nations Cup for not having hired a single Arabic translator.
On 10 November 2022, Bounou was named in Morocco's 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. He made two saves during the round of 16 penalty shoot-out against Spain, leading to Morocco qualifying for the quarter-finals for the first time in their history, where they won 1–0 against Portugal, becoming the first African team to reach the semi-finals. He kept four clean sheets, the most out of any goalkeeper in the tournament. He was the first African to reach three clean sheets at a World Cup.
Personal life
On 9 September 2023, Bounou along with his national teammates donated their blood for the needy affected by the 2023 Marrakesh-Safi earthquake.
Career statistics
Club
International
Honours
Wydad AC
Botola: 2009–10
CAF Champions League runner-up: 2011
Atlético Madrid
La Liga: 2013–14
Supercopa de España: 2014
UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2013-14
Sevilla
UEFA Europa League: 2019–20, 2022–23
UEFA Super Cup runner-up: 2020, 2023
Individual
La Liga Zamora Trophy: 2021–22
UEFA Europa League Team of the Season: 2019–20, 2022–23
La Liga Best African Player: 2021–22
La Liga Team of the Season: 2021–22
Girona Player of the Month: February 2018, October 2018
Castore Player of the Month: January 2023, May 2023
IFFHS Africa Team of The Year: 2022
African Player of the Year (Africa d'Or): 2023
Best Moroccan goalkeeper abroad: 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23
Orders
Order of the Throne: 2022
References
External links
Profile at the Sevilla FC website
1991 births
Living people
Citizens of Morocco through descent
Moroccan men's footballers
Footballers from Casablanca
Morocco men's international footballers
Soccer players from Montreal
Canadian people of Moroccan descent
Canadian men's soccer players
Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia
Men's association football goalkeepers
Botola players
Wydad AC players
La Liga players
Segunda División players
Segunda División B players
Atlético Madrid B players
Real Zaragoza players
Girona FC players
Sevilla FC players
Saudi Pro League players
Al Hilal SFC players
Moroccan expatriate men's footballers
Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia
Expatriate men's footballers in Spain
Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia
Olympic footballers for Morocco
Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics
2017 Africa Cup of Nations players
2018 FIFA World Cup players
2019 Africa Cup of Nations players
2021 Africa Cup of Nations players
2022 FIFA World Cup players
UEFA Europa League winning players