Neil El Aynaoui
Morocco international footballer (born 2001)
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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.
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El Aynaoui with Morocco in 2026 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Neil Yoni El Aynaoui | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 2 July 2001 | ||||||||||||||||
| 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
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:52, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 31 March 2026 | |||||||||||||||||
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
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
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Nancy B | 2020–21 | National 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | National 3 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| 2022–23 | CFA | 33 | 4 | — | — | 33 | 4 | |||
| Total | 42 | 4 | — | — | 42 | 4 | ||||
| Nancy | 2021–22 | Ligue 2 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 24 | 2 | |
| Lens B | 2023–24 | National 3 | 1 | 2 | — | — | 1 | 2 | ||
| Lens | 2023–24 | Ligue 1 | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5[b] | 0 | 31 | 1 |
| 2024–25 | Ligue 1 | 23 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 8 | |
| Total | 48 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 55 | 9 | ||
| Roma | 2025–26 | Serie A | 25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9[c] | 1 | 34 | 2 |
| Career total | 140 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 156 | 16 | ||
- Includes Coupe de France
- Three appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
International
- As of match played 31 March 2026[12]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morocco | 2025 | 9 | 0 |
| 2026 | 6 | 2 | |
| Total | 15 | 2 | |
- Morocco score listed first, score column indicates score after each El Aynaoui goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 March 2026 | Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid, Spain |  Ecuador | 1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 31 March 2026 | Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens, France |  Paraguay | 2–0 | 2–1 |
Honours
Morocco
