Neil El Aynaoui

Morocco international footballer (born 2001) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Neil Yoni El Aynaoui (Arabic: نائل العيناوي; born 2 July 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Roma and the Morocco national team.

Full name Neil Yoni El Aynaoui
Date of birth (2001-07-02) 2 July 2001 (age 24)
Place of birth Nancy, France
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Quick facts Personal information, Full name ...
Neil El Aynaoui
El Aynaoui with Morocco in 2026
Personal information
Full name Neil Yoni El Aynaoui
Date of birth (2001-07-02) 2 July 2001 (age 24)
Place of birth Nancy, France
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position Midfielder
Team information
Current team
Roma
Number 8
Youth career
2009–2020 Nancy
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2021 Nancy B 10 (0)
2021–2023 Nancy 67 (6)
2023 Lens B 1 (2)
2023–2025 Lens 49 (9)
2025– Roma 25 (1)
International career
2023 Morocco U23 1 (0)
2025– Morocco 15 (2)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Morocco
Africa Cup of Nations
Winner2025 Morocco
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:52, 24 May 2026 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 31 March 2026
Close

Club career

Nancy

El Aynaoui joined the youth academy of Nancy when he was 8, and signed his first professional contract with the club on 3 June 2021.[1] He made his professional debut with Nancy in a 4–0 Ligue 2 loss to Toulouse on 31 July 2021.[2]

Lens

El Aynaoui playing for Lens in 2023

On 29 June 2023, El Aynaoui signed for Ligue 1 club Lens on a four-year contract.[3] He scored his first goal on 28 October 2023 against FC Nantes.[4]

Roma

On 20 July 2025, El Aynaoui moved to Roma in Italy on a five-year contract.[5] He made his debut for the club against Bologna on matchday 1 of the Serie A, by coming off the bench in the 60th minute in place of El Shaarawy.[6]

He scored his first goal for Roma in a Europa League match against Midtjylland on 27 November 2025.[7]

International career

Born in France, El Aynaoui holds French and Moroccan nationalities.[8] He was called up to the Morocco U23s for a set of friendlies in September 2023.[9]

On 11 December 2025, El Aynaoui was called up to the Morocco squad for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. In the final, he iconically got injured in his eye, where they treated him with a bandage and he kept playing to contribute and to participate in the Final.[10]

Personal life

El Aynaoui is the son of the retired Moroccan tennis player Younes El Aynaoui.[11]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 24 May 2026
More information Club, Season ...
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Europe Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Nancy B 2020–21 National 3 4040
2021–22 National 3 5050
2022–23 CFA 334334
Total 424424
Nancy 2021–22 Ligue 2 24200242
Lens B 2023–24 National 3 1212
Lens 2023–24 Ligue 1 251105[b]0311
2024–25 Ligue 1 2381000248
Total 4892050559
Roma 2025–26 Serie A 251009[c]1342
Career total 140152014115616
Close
  1. Three appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 31 March 2026[12]
More information National team, Year ...
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Morocco 202590
202662
Total152
Close
Morocco score listed first, score column indicates score after each El Aynaoui goal.
More information No., Date ...
List of international goals scored by Neil El Aynaoui
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
127 March 2026Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid, Spain Ecuador1–11–1Friendly
231 March 2026Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens, France Paraguay2–02–1
Close

Honours

References

Related Articles

Wikiwand AI