Omar Rekik
Tunisian footballer (born 2001)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Omar Rekik (Arabic: عمر رقيق; born 20 December 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Slovenian PrvaLiga club Maribor.[2] Born in the Netherlands, he represents the Tunisia national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 20 December 2001 | ||
| Place of birth | Helmond, Netherlands | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Maribor | ||
| Number | 44 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2012 | Feyenoord | ||
| 2012–2014 | Manchester City | ||
| 2014–2015 | PSV | ||
| 2015–2017 | Marseille | ||
| 2017–2021 | Hertha BSC | ||
| 2021–2022 | Arsenal | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020–2021 | Hertha BSC II | 8 | (1) |
| 2021–2024 | Arsenal | 0 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | → Sparta Rotterdam (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2022 | → Jong Sparta (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2023 | → Wigan Athletic (loan) | 11 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | → Wigan Athletic (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2024 | → Servette (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2025– | Maribor | 44 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018 | Tunisia U21 | 1 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | Netherlands U18 | 3 | (1) |
| 2021– | Tunisia | 6 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17 May 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 8 June 2026 | |||
Early life
Born in Helmond, Netherlands[3] to a Tunisian father and a Dutch mother,[4][5] Rekik was part of several big European clubs during his youth career, following his brother Karim from Feyenoord to Manchester City, then PSV and Marseille, before joining Hertha Berlin in 2017.[3][6] However, their careers eventually split during the 2020–21 season, as Omar was transferred from the Bundesliga side to Arsenal in January 2021,[7][6][8] while Karim joined Spanish side Sevilla a few months earlier.[5][6]
Club career
On 31 January 2023, Rekik joined Wigan Athletic in the EFL Championship on loan until the end of the season.[9] On 1 September 2023, he re-joined Wigan Athletic in EFL League One on a short-term loan deal until January 2024.[10]
On 2 February 2024, Rekik moved on a new loan to Servette in Switzerland, with an option to buy.[11]
International career
While his brother Karim was already capped for the senior Netherlands national team, Omar was first selected in the Tunisia under-21 selection in October 2018, aged just 16,[3] before joining the Netherlands under-18 a month later.[12]
Rekik eventually decided to join the Tunisia national team in May 2021, as he was selected by Mondher Kebaier along with other young players such as Hannibal Mejbri.[4][13] He made his international senior debut on 15 June 2021, starting as a midfielder in a 1–0 friendly win against Mali.[14][15]
Career statistics
- As of 22 January 2024
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Hertha BSC II | 2020–21 | Regionalliga Nordost | 8 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 8 | 1 | ||||
| Arsenal | 2020–21 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021–22 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2022–23 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Arsenal U23 | 2021–22 | — | — | — | — | 2[a] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||||
| Sparta Rotterdam (loan) | 2022–23 | Eredivisie | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
| Wigan Athletic (loan) | 2022–23 | Championship | 11 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 11 | 0 | ||||
| Wigan Athletic (loan) | 2023–24 | League One | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[a] | 0 | 14 | 0 | |
| Servette | 2023–24 | Swiss Super League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 35 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 41 | 1 | ||
- Appearances in EFL Trophy