Medhi Benatia facts for kids
Benatia playing for Morocco at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Medhi Amine El Mouttaqi Benatia | ||
| Date of birth | 17 April 1987 | ||
| Place of birth | Courcouronnes, France | ||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
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Current team
|
Marseille (sporting director) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2000–2002 | Clairefontaine | ||
| 2002–2003 | Guingamp | ||
| 2003–2006 | Marseille | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2006–2008 | Marseille | 0 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | → Tours (loan) | 29 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | → Lorient (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2008–2010 | Clermont | 57 | (2) |
| 2010–2013 | Udinese | 80 | (6) |
| 2013–2014 | Roma | 33 | (5) |
| 2014–2017 | Bayern Munich | 29 | (2) |
| 2016–2017 | → Juventus (loan) | 12 | (1) |
| 2017–2019 | Juventus | 28 | (2) |
| 2019–2021 | Al-Duhail | 38 | (1) |
| 2021 | Fatih Karagümrük | 6 | (0) |
| Total | 312 | (19) | |
| International career | |||
| 2005 | France U18 | 1 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | Morocco U20 | 4 | (0) |
| 2008–2019 | Morocco | 66 | (2) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2023– | Marseille (sporting director) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Medhi Benatia is a former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He was born on April 17, 1987. Medhi is now the sporting director for the Ligue 1 club Marseille.
Benatia is well known for playing in France, Italy, and Germany. He played for the Morocco national team and was their captain. He led them to their first World Cup in twenty years.
He started his career at Marseille. He then played for Tours, Lorient, and Clermont. In 2010, he joined Udinese. After three seasons, he moved to Roma.
Later, Benatia joined Bayern Munich for a fee of €26 million. He won the Bundesliga title in both seasons he played there. In 2016, he moved to Juventus. He won three league titles with Juventus. He also helped them reach the Champions League final in 2017.
After playing for Al-Duhail in Qatar and Fatih Karagümrük in Turkey, Benatia stopped playing professional football in 2021.
Medhi Benatia was born and grew up in France. He first played for France's under-18 team. He then chose to play for Morocco, his father's home country. He played for Morocco's under-20 team and made his senior international debut in 2008. Benatia played for Morocco in four Africa Cup of Nations tournaments and the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He retired from international football in 2019, having played 66 games for his country.
Contents
Early Life and Background
Medhi Benatia was born in Courcouronnes, France. His father is from Morocco, and his mother is from Algeria.
Club Football Career
Starting at Marseille
Benatia joined Marseille in 2003. He signed his first professional contract with them two years later. After playing on loan for Tours and Lorient, he moved to Ligue 2 club Clermont in 2008.
Playing for Udinese
On July 1, 2010, Benatia signed with Serie A club Udinese. He played 80 league games for Udinese and scored six goals.
Time at Roma
On July 13, 2013, Benatia joined Roma on a five-year contract. This transfer was worth €13.5 million. He scored his first goal for Roma on September 26 in a 2–0 win against Sampdoria. He scored five goals in 33 games during his season with Roma.
Joining Bayern Munich
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On August 27, 2014, Bayern Munich announced they had signed Benatia. He signed a five-year deal for €26 million. Benatia said he was sad to leave Roma. However, he was told he had to go because the club needed money.
Benatia played his first official game for Bayern on September 17, 2014. It was a 1–0 home win against Manchester City in the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League. He played for 85 minutes in that match. In the return game against Manchester City, he was sent off early.
He scored his first goal for Bayern on December 13. It was a header in a 4–0 win against FC Augsburg. This win put his team 10 points ahead in the Bundesliga. On May 12, 2015, Benatia scored his first Champions League goal. He scored with a header against Barcelona. Even though his team won 3–2, they were out of the competition.
He started the 2015–16 season in the German Super Cup. Bayern lost this game in a penalty shootout. On August 14, he scored the first goal of the new Bundesliga season. It was a header in a 5–0 win against Hamburger SV.
Moving to Juventus
_-_Medhi_Benatia_(cropped).jpg)
On July 15, 2016, Juventus signed Benatia on a one-year loan for €3 million. They had an option to buy him for an extra €17 million. He played his first game for Juventus on August 27. It was a 1–0 away win over Lazio in Serie A.
On March 10, 2017, Benatia scored his first goal for Juventus. It was in a 2–1 win over A.C. Milan at the Juventus Stadium. On May 12, Juventus decided to sign Benatia permanently until 2020.
In May 2017, Benatia stopped an interview with a TV channel. This happened because he heard disrespectful comments in his earpiece. The company later apologized for the incident.
On April 11, 2018, Juventus was playing Real Madrid in the Champions League. Benatia was involved in a play that led to a penalty for Real Madrid. This penalty meant Juventus lost the game. On May 9, he scored two goals in Juventus's 4–0 win over Milan. This was in the 2018 Coppa Italia Final.
Playing in Qatar and Turkey
After playing only five league games in the first half of the 2018–19 season, Benatia moved. In January 2019, he joined Qatar Stars League club Al-Duhail. Juventus announced the transfer fee was €8 million. He played his first game for Al-Duhail on February 16.
In the summer of 2021, he moved to Süper Lig club Fatih Karagümrük. He played six league games there. Medhi Benatia then retired from professional football on December 9, 2021.
International Football Career
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Benatia played his first international game for Morocco on November 19, 2008. It was a friendly match against Zambia. He scored his first goal for Morocco on June 4, 2011. This was in a 4–0 win over Algeria.
He was part of Morocco's team at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations. He played every minute until they were knocked out by Egypt. In March of that year, he decided not to play for the national team for a while. He wanted to play more regularly for Juventus first. On November 11, he scored in a 2–0 win against the Ivory Coast. This win helped Morocco qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. It was their first World Cup in 20 years. He called it "the most beautiful moment of my career."
Benatia stopped playing for the national team in October 2019. He had also played in the 2018 World Cup and the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
After Retirement from Playing
On November 30, 2023, Medhi Benatia was named the sporting director of Marseille. This was his first professional club as a player.
Playing Style
Medhi Benatia was a tall, strong, and athletic defender. He had good technique and was skilled at playing the ball. He was also good at organizing his team's defense. During his time in Italy, he was known as one of the best centre-backs in Serie A. He was especially good at tackling and heading the ball.
Career Statistics
Club Appearances
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Tours (loan) | 2006–07 | Ligue 2 | 29 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 0 | ||
| Lorient (loan) | 2007–08 | Ligue 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Clermont | 2008–09 | Ligue 2 | 27 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 1 | ||
| 2009–10 | Ligue 2 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 1 | |||
| Total | 57 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 60 | 2 | ||||
| Udinese | 2010–11 | Serie A | 34 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 34 | 3 | |||
| 2011–12 | Serie A | 27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 11 | 1 | — | 38 | 2 | |||
| 2012–13 | Serie A | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | — | 25 | 2 | |||
| Total | 80 | 6 | 0 | 0 | — | 17 | 1 | — | 97 | 7 | ||||
| Roma | 2013–14 | Serie A | 33 | 5 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 37 | 5 | |||
| Bayern Munich | 2014–15 | Bundesliga | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 2 | |
| 2015–16 | Bundesliga | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 1 | ||
| Total | 29 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 3 | |||
| Juventus | 2016–17 | Serie A | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 1 | |
| 2017–18 | Serie A | 20 | 2 | 3 | 2 | — | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 4 | ||
| 2018–19 | Serie A | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Total | 40 | 3 | 4 | 2 | — | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 59 | 5 | |||
| Al-Duhail | 2018–19 | Qatar Stars League | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | — | 15 | 2 | |
| 2019–20 | Qatar Stars League | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 26 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Qatar Stars League | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 19 | 0 | ||
| Total | 38 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 | — | 60 | 2 | |||
| Fatih Karagümrük | 2021–22 | Süper Lig | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 312 | 19 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 62 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 396 | 24 | ||
International Appearances
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morocco | 2009 | 7 | 0 |
| 2010 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2012 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2018 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 66 | 2 | |
- Scores and results list Morocco's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Benatia goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 June 2011 | Stade de Marrakech, Marrakech, Morocco |  Algeria |
1–0 | 4–0 | 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 2 | 11 November 2017 | Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Ivory Coast |  Ivory Coast |
2–0 | 2–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Football Achievements
Bayern Munich
- Bundesliga: 2014–15, 2015–16
- DFB-Pokal: 2015–16
Juventus
- Serie A: 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19
- Coppa Italia: 2016–17, 2017–18
- Supercoppa Italiana: 2018
- UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2016–17
Al-Duhail
- Qatar Stars League: 2019–20
- Qatar Emir Cup: 2019–20
- Qatar Cup runner-up: 2020
Individual Awards
- CAF Team of the Year: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018
- Mars d'Or (Best Moroccan Player): 2013, 2014
- El Heddaf Arab Footballer of the Year: 2015
- A.S. Roma Player of the Season: 2013–14
- "Gran Galà del calcio AIC" Best Central Defender: 2014
- European Sports Media's European Team of the Season: 2013–14
- Serie A Team of the Year: 2013–14
- Qatar Stars League Team of the Year: 2019–20
- Globe Soccer Awards Best Arab Player of the Year: 2014
- France Football Africa Team of the Year: 2017
- Goal Africa Team of the Year: 2018
- IFFHS CAF Men's Team of the Decade 2011–2020
- IFFHS All-time Morocco Men's Dream Team
See also
In Spanish: Mehdi Benatia para niños
