Salman Al-Faraj
Saudi Arabian footballer
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Salman Mohammed Mohammed Al-Faraj (Arabic: سَلْمَان مُحَمَّد مُحَمَّد الْفَرَج; born 1 August 1989) is a Saudi Arabian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for the Saudi Arabia national team.
Mohammed Al-Faraj [1]
|
Salman with Saudi Arabia at the 2018 FIFA World Cup | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name |
Salman Mohammed Mohammed Al-Faraj [1] | ||
| Date of birth | 1 August 1989 | ||
| Place of birth | Medina, Saudi Arabia[2] | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[3] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2004–2008 | Al Hilal | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2008–2024 | Al Hilal | 242 | (17) |
| 2024–2026 | Neom | 24 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2011–2012 | Saudi Arabia U23 | 2 | (1) |
| 2021 | Saudi Arabia Olympic (wild-card) | 3 | (0) |
| 2012– | Saudi Arabia | 75 | (9) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17:01, 3 June 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 22:35, 31 March 2026 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Al Hilal
Al-Faraj was a one-club man of Al Hilal.
Neom
On July 28, 2024, Al-Faraj completed his transfer to Neom, a team in the Saudi First Division League.[4]
International career
Al-Faraj's first match with his national team was against Congo in an international friendly at Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium in al-Hasa, Saudi Arabia on 14 October 2012. The match ended in a 3–2 win.[5] In December 2014, he was named in the Saudi squad for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup in Australia.[6]
Salman's first goal with his national team was against Timor-Leste during the second round of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers at King Abdullah Sports City, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on 3 September 2015. The match ended in a 7–0 win.[7]
In May 2018, he was named in Saudi Arabia's preliminary squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.[8] On 4 June, Salman was included in 23-man squad for the World Cup.[9] On 25 June, Salman scored the equalizing goal and his first ever World Cup goal from the penalty kick in a 2–1 victory over Egypt in their last group stage match of the tournament; it was Saudi Arabia's lone win in the tournament as the team crashed out of the group stage.[10]
In June 2021, he assumed the role of captain for the national team at the 2020 Summer Olympics.[11] Subsequently, in November 2022, he earned a spot in the 26-man squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.[12] However, under the coaching of Roberto Mancini, Al-Faraj was excluded from the squad for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, reportedly due to off-field issues and frictions.[13]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 31 May 2024[14]
| Club | Season | League | King Cup | Crown Prince Cup | Asia | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Al-Hilal | 2008–09 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |
| 2009–10 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 26 | 1 | ||
| 2012–13 | 22 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 1 | — | 36 | 4 | ||
| 2013–14 | 22 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 33 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | 20 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 1 | — | 42 | 6 | ||
| 2015–16 | 19 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 36 | 3 | |
| 2016–17 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 31 | 2 | |
| 2017–18 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | — | 24 | 3 | |||
| 2018–19 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 10 | 2 | ||
| 2019–20 | 19 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 2 | ||
| 2020–21 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 19 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | 22 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | 10 | 1 | 1[c] 1[a] | 0 | 38 | 2 | ||
| 2022–23 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | |||
| 2023–24 | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | — | 31 | 0 | |||
| Total | 242 | 17 | 33 | 2 | 19 | 3 | 90 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 391 | 25 | |
| Career totals | 242 | 17 | 33 | 2 | 19 | 3 | 90 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 391 | 25 | |
- Appearances in Saudi Super Cup
- One appearance in Arab Club Champions Cup, and one appearance in Saudi-Egyptian Super Cup
- Appearances in FIFA Club World Cup
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | 2012 | 2 | 0 |
| 2013 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 10 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2018 | 11 | 2 | |
| 2019 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 9 | 2 | |
| 2022 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2026 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 75 | 9 | |
- Scores and results list Saudi Arabia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Al-Faraj goal.[15]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 September 2015 | King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia |  Timor-Leste | 4–0 | 7–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 7 October 2017 | King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia |  Jamaica | 3–1 | 5–2 | Friendly |
| 3 | 9 May 2018 | Estadio Ramón de Carranza, Cádiz, Spain |  Algeria | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 4 | 25 June 2018 | Volgograd Arena, Volgograd, Russia |  Egypt | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2018 FIFA World Cup |
| 5 | 14 November 2019 | Pakhtakor Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan |  Uzbekistan | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 6 | 2–2 | |||||
| 7 | 15 June 2021 | King Saud University Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |  Saudi Arabia | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 8 | 2–0 | |||||
| 9 | 13 October 2023 | Estádio Municipal de Portimão, Portimão, Portugal |  Nigeria | 1–0 | 2–2 | Friendly |
Honours
Al-Hilal
- Saudi Pro League, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2023–24
- King's Cup (Saudi Arabia): 2015, 2017, 2019–20, 2022–23, 2023–24
- Saudi Crown Prince Cup: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2015–16
- Saudi Super Cup: 2015, 2018, 2021, 2023[18]
- AFC Champions League: 2019, 2021