Anwar El Ghazi (Arabic: أنور الغازي; Riffian-Berber: ⴰⵏⵡⴰⵔ ⵍⴴⴰⵣⵉ; born 3 May 1995) is a Dutch professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a winger for PSV and the Netherlands national team. He played for

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

and

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

before joining PSV in 2022.

Club career

Early career

El Ghazi began his football career in the youth ranks of his local club

BVV Barendrecht BVV Barendrecht is a football club from Barendrecht, Netherlands. The club was founded on 12 February 1926 and plays its matches at Sportpark de Bongerd. With more than 2000 members, Barendrecht is one of the largest amateur clubs of the Nether ...

, joining the youth academy of

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after its ...

for two seasons. He then joined the ranks of Spartaan '20 before being recruited to

Sparta Rotterdam Sparta Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club based in Rotterdam. Established on 1 April 1888, Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands. Sparta currently compete in the Eredivisie, the top flight ...

, where he progressed through the academy. In 2013, he joined the

Ajax Youth Academy The Ajax Youth Academy (Dutch: ''Ajax Jeugdopleiding'') is a football youth academy based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, from where the organization manages a total of 13 youth teams (ages 7–18). The academy is the primary youth clinic of Dutch foo ...

, playing for the A1 selection (under-19), competing in the

UEFA Youth League The UEFA Youth League is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 2013. In its current format, it is contested by the youth teams of the clubs competing in the UEFA Champions League ...

Ajax

El Ghazi was signed by

in July 2013. During the 2014–15 pre-season, he scored 8 goals in 150 minutes of playing time, finishing as Ajax's top pre-season scorer. While Ajax initially intended to send El Ghazi to their reserve team, Jong Ajax, El Ghazi's pre-season prompted Ajax to include him in the first-team squad, following the loan of fellow winger Lesley de Sa to

Go Ahead Eagles Go Ahead Eagles () are a Dutch professional football club from the city of Deventer. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, having achieved promotion from the second tier Eerste Divisie in the 2020-21 season. The club's h ...

. El Ghazi made his official debut for Ajax in the 2014 Johan Cruyff Shield against

PEC Zwolle PEC Zwolle is a Dutch football club based in Zwolle, Netherlands. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie in the 2021–22 season. They have played in the Eredivisie for a total ...

, coming on for Ricardo Kishna in the 1–0 loss at home. El Ghazi made his regular season debut for Ajax in the

2014–15 Eredivisie The 2014–15 Eredivisie season was the 59th season of the Eredivisie since its establishment in 1955. On 18 April 2015, PSV were confirmed as champions of the season, thus ending the four-year reign of Ajax. Teams A total of 18 teams took par ...

season opener against Vitesse. The match ended in a 4–1 home victory, with El Ghazi providing the assist for the fourth goal by

Lasse Schöne Lasse Schöne (; born 27 May 1986) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or winger for Eredivisie club NEC and the Denmark national team. He is known for his set piece abilities. Schöne spent his entire professional ...

in the 87th minute. On 17 August 2014, El Ghazi scored his first

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

goal in the 3–1 away win against AZ, scoring in the 90th minute. He scored his first

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

goal on 22 October 2014 at

Camp Nou Camp Nou (, meaning ''new field'', often referred to in English as the Nou Camp), officially branded as Spotify Camp Nou for sponsorship and financial reasons, is a football stadium in Barcelona, Spain. It has been the home stadium of FC Barcelo ...

against

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

in the 88th minute of a 3–1 loss. In so doing, he became the first player to score at Camp Nou since the beginning of the 2014–15 season, when Barcelona went five matches at home without conceding a goal.

Lille

On 31 January 2017, it was announced El Ghazi had been sold to French

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

side

for a €8 million transfer fee. On 18 February, he scored his first goal for Lille against

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,2017–18 season, El Ghazi scored Lille's third goal against

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

. To celebrate, he took off his shirt to reveal a shirt paying tribute to

Abdelhak Nouri Abdelhak "Appie" Nouri (born 2 April 1997) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He operated primarily as an attacking midfielder, but could also be deployed as a winger. A youth product of Eredivisie club Aja ...

, his former Ajax teammate who the month before had collapsed and suffered a

cardiac arrhythmia Arrhythmias, also known as cardiac arrhythmias, heart arrhythmias, or dysrhythmias, are irregularities in the heartbeat, including when it is too fast or too slow. A resting heart rate that is too fast – above 100 beats per minute in adults ...

attack, which had left him with severe and permanent brain damage and unable to continue as a footballer. During the 2017–18 season, El Ghazi scored four goals and delivered two assists in 27 appearances. The Dutch striker distinguished himself in particular during the match against

RC Strasbourg Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace (commonly known as RC Strasbourg, Racing Straßburg, RCSA, RCS, or simply Strasbourg; Alsatian: ''Füeßbàllmànnschàft Vu Stroßburri'') is a French association football club founded in 1906, based in the c ...

, on 28 January 2018 at home at the

Stade Pierre-Mauroy The Stade Pierre-Mauroy, also known as the Decathlon Arena – Stade Pierre-Mauroy for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-use retractable roof stadium in Villeneuve-d'Ascq (Métropole Européenne de Lille), France, that opened in August 2012. It ha ...

, where he scored the first goal; a header, after an assist by

Nicolas Pépé Nicolas Pépé (born 29 May 1995) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for club Nice, on loan from Arsenal of the . Born in France, he represents the Ivory Coast national team. Pépé began his senior club career with Poitiers ...

. He then delivered an assist for the Edgar Ié, sealing the win for Lille. On 18 February 2018, El Ghazi suffered a hamstring injury against

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

, sidelining him for several weeks. Due to complications, he did not return until the end of the season, where he struggled to establish himself in head coach

Christophe Galtier Christophe Galtier (born 23 August 1966) is a French professional football coach and former player who is the head coach of Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain. A defender, Galtier was a journeyman professional who spent many of his 15 years as a ...

's starting lineup.

Aston Villa

On 22 August 2018, El Ghazi signed for

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

club

on a season-long loan, with a clause to buy included. He made his debut on 25 August 2018 in a 1–1 draw with

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

, providing an assist by crossing the ball to

Ahmed Elmohamady Ahmed Eissa Elmohamady Abdel Fattah ( ar, أحمد المحمدي; born 9 September 1987) is an Egyptian former professional footballer who played as a right-back and captained the Egypt national football team. Elmohamady moved to Premier Leagu ...

, who scored a header. He scored his first goal for the Villains a week later on 1 September 2018 in a 4-1 defeat to

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

. On 28 April 2019, in a heated contest between Aston Villa and

playoff rivals

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

Elland Road Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Premier League club Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the 14th largest football stadium in England. The g ...

, El Ghazi was mistakenly shown a red card by referee

Stuart Attwell Stuart Steven Attwell (born 6 October 1982) is an English football referee who officiates primarily in the Premier League. Attwell made a prominent debut in 2008 as the youngest person ever to referee in the Premier League. but was demoted from ...

. This occurred after El Ghazi allegedly struck Leeds forward

Patrick Bamford Patrick James Bamford (born 5 September 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Leeds United and the England national team. Bamford began his career at Nottingham Forest, making his debut in December 2011, ...

during an on pitch brawl following

Mateusz Klich Mateusz Andrzej Klich (; born 13 June 1990) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for the Poland national team. He is currently a free agent. Club career Cracovia Born in Tarnów, Klich debuted in the Ekstraklasa in Nove ...

's controversial 72nd opening goal for Leeds United following

Tyler Roberts Tyler D'Whyte Roberts (born 12 January 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward or attacking midfielder for club Birmingham City and the Wales national football team. Roberts is an academy graduate of West Bromwich Albion and ...

' refusal to put the ball out of touch for an injury. The decision was met with controversy from fans and pundits alike, with Aston Villa head coach

Dean Smith Dean Edwards Smith (February 28, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American men's college basketball head coach. Called a "coaching legend" by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he coached for 36 years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hi ...

claiming that after reviewing the footage of the incident reported that he'd be 'amazed' if the red card and subsequent three-game ban weren't overturned after appeal. The red card and ban were later rescinded and on 2 May, Bamford was banned for two games for "successful deception of a match official". On 27 May 2019, El Ghazi scored Aston Villa's first goal in their 2–1 EFL Championship Play-off final victory over

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

. In the 44th minute he met an Ahmed Elmohamady cross from the right with an attempted diving header which diverted in off his back. In the second half an El Ghazi shot from just outside the penalty area was blocked by

Richard Keogh Richard John Keogh (born 11 August 1986) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Ipswich Town and for the Republic of Ireland national team. His main positional role is at centre-back, though he has also played at right-back d ...

, looping up for

John McGinn John McGinn (born 18 October 1994) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Aston Villa, where he is captain, and the Scotland national team. McGinn previously played for St Mirren and Hibernian, and also re ...

to steal in and score with a header, putting Aston Villa 2–0 up in the tie on 59 minutes. El Ghazi signed for Villa permanently on 10 June 2019 on a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee. He scored 4 goals and contributed 4 assists in his first

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

season, as Villa narrowly avoided relegation. On 26 December 2020, El Ghazi scored a goal in the 3–0 home victory over

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

that would go onto to be voted Aston Villa's goal of the season for the 2020–21 season. It was one of 11 goals scored that season, equalling his best ever goalscoring season with Ajax.

Everton

El Ghazi signed for Everton on loan on 13 January 2022. He took the number 34 shirt in honour of former Ajax teammate

PSV

On 30 August 2022, El Ghazi completed a move to

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; en, Philips Sports Association ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional football department, whi ...

. He made his debut in a 2–1 defeat to

Twente Twente ( nl, Twente , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a Germ ...

on 3 September.

International career

Having dual citizenship, El Ghazi was eligible to represent either the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

at senior level. He made his international debut playing for the Netherlands under-18 side in a friendly match against

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

on 15 October 2012, a 2–0 loss.

Netherlands

El Ghazi met

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest p ...

during the summer break, a player who he looks up to, and asked him whether he should represent the Netherlands or Morocco. Ronaldo advised him to choose the Netherlands because he would have a higher chance to participate in an international tournament, based on their history. Consequently, El Ghazi said he would choose to represent the Netherlands and was subsequently called up for the Netherlands' two final

UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying The UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying tournament was a football competition that was played from September 2014 to November 2015 to determine the 23 UEFA member men's national teams joining the automatically qualified host team France in the UEFA Euro 2 ...

matches, against

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

on 10 October 2015 and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

on 13 October. He was named in the ''Oranjes starting line-up for both matches as the Dutch defeated Kazakhstan 2–1 but lost to the Czechs 3–2. The Netherlands failed to qualify for the tournament proper after finishing fourth in their qualifying group. On 14 May 2021, El Ghazi was called up by

Frank de Boer Franciscus de Boer (; born 15 May 1970) is a Dutch football manager who was most recently the head coach of the Netherlands national team. A former defender, De Boer spent most of his professional playing career with Ajax, winning five Eredi ...

and the

to be part of the provisional squad for the upcoming

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

tournament, making it his first call-up to the national team since 2015.

Morocco

In October 2022 El Ghazi confirmed that he was considering switching to

and that the

Royal Moroccan Football Federation The Royal Moroccan Football Federation ( ar, الجامعة الملكية المغربية لكرة القدم), (french: Fédérarion Royale marocaine de football) is the governing body of football in Morocco. It was established in 1956. It beca ...

was working on the paperwork.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Aston Villa *

EFL Championship play-offs The English Football League Championship play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from third to sixth in the EFL Championship table and are part of the English Football League play-offs. , t ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

runner-up: 2019–20 Individual * Ajax Talent of the Year (Marco van Basten Award): 2015

References

External links

Profile
at the PSV Eindhoven website
Netherlands U17 stats
at OnsOranje
Netherlands U18 stats
at OnsOranje {{DEFAULTSORT:Ghazi, Anwar 1995 births Living people Footballers from Barendrecht Dutch footballers Netherlands youth international footballers Netherlands under-21 international footballers Netherlands international footballers Association football wingers BVV Barendrecht players AFC Ajax players Lille OSC players Aston Villa F.C. players Everton F.C. players PSV Eindhoven players Eredivisie players Ligue 1 players English Football League players Premier League players Dutch expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in France Dutch expatriate sportspeople in England Dutch expatriate sportspeople in France Dutch sportspeople of Moroccan descent