Karim Rekik ( ar, كريم رقيق; born 2 December 1994) 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 ...

who plays as a defender for

UAE Pro League The UAE Pro League ( ar, دوري المحترفين الإماراتي), known for sponsorship reasons as the ADNOC Pro League, is the top professional football league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The first team to win the title was Al O ...

club

Al-Jazira Jazira or Al-Jazira ( 'island'), or variants, may refer to: Business *Jazeera Airways, an airlines company based in Kuwait Locations * Al-Jazira, a traditional region known today as Upper Mesopotamia or the smaller region of Cizre * Al-Jazira ( ...

. Rekik came through the youth academy at

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 ...

, before joining

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 ...

side

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

who he signed on a professional terms in 2011. He would only make one appearance for City in the league over a four-year spell, spending time on loan with

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

and PSV. In 2015 he signed for

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

where he remained for several seasons before joining

Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC (), and sometimes referred to as Hertha Berlin, Hertha BSC Berlin, or simply Hertha, is a German professional football club based in the locality of Westend of the borough of Charl ...

. He has been capped at numerous international levels, including four caps for

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 ...

between 2014 and 2017.

Early life

Rekik was born in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

. His father was born in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

and his mother is a Dutch primary school teaching assistant. He has a younger brother,

Omar ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate o ...

, who is also a professional footballer playing as a centre-back for

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. Rekik started his football when he joined

Scheveningen Scheveningen is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict (''wijk'') of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is po ...

in 1999 before joining

, where he went on to stay for nine years. But in March 2011,

made an approach for Rekik, as Feyernood were determined to keep a hold off him. The approach was to be controversial, as the club took the case matter to the Dutch FA, as a result of the club losing their youngsters to

clubs. The club was also considering legal action against Rekik's agent

Søren Lerby Søren Lerby (born 1 February 1958) is a Danish former football player, manager, and licensed agent. As a player, he spent most of his career in Dutch football, winning five Eredivisie championships with Ajax Amsterdam and two with PSV Eindhove ...

, though he insisted he maintain following FIFA's rules. The case was dismissed.

Club career

Manchester City

Rekik signed for

from Feyenoord in the summer of 2011, and made his debut appearance for the first team in the

Dublin Super Cup The 2011 Dublin Super Cup was a two-day pre-season football tournament held at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It was held on 30–31 July 2011 and featured Celtic F.C., Celtic, F.C. Internazionale Milano, F.C. Internazi ...

in pre-season. He made his official first team debut for Manchester City on 21 September 2011 against

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

in the third round of the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

, coming on as a substitute for

Wayne Bridge Wayne Michael Bridge (born 5 August 1980) is an English former footballer who played as a left back. A graduate of the Southampton Academy where he made his debut in 1998, Bridge also played for Chelsea, West Ham, Manchester City, Fulham and ...

in the last 12 minutes of the game. His debut against Birmingham City saw him become the youngest overseas player to appear in a senior game for City, just 16 years and 294 days old. He also made a 73rd-minute substitute appearance in the fourth round of the competition against

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

at Molineux, in place of Luca Scapuzzi. Rekik returned to Manchester City at the end of the 2011–12 season. On 5 December 2012, it was announced that Rekik signed a long term contract with the club. He would go on to start in his Premier League debut, a 1–0 win at home to

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 ...

on 22 December 2012, and was substituted for

James Milner James Philip Milner (born 4 January 1986) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Liverpool. A versatile player, Milner has played in multiple positions, including on the wing, in midfield and at full-back. ...

in the 84th minute. Reading claimed that they deserved a penalty for Rekik's challenge on Jay Tabb, which was not given by referee Mike Dean. On 10 August 2014, Rekik was an unused substitute as City lost the Community Shield 3–0 to

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

Loan spells in England

On 22 March 2012, it was confirmed that

Michael Appleton Michael Antony Appleton (born 4 December 1975) is an English professional football manager and former player. He is currently the head coach of Blackpool. As a player, he operated as a midfielder, in a nine-year career that began in 1994 and e ...

was to take Scapuzzi and Rekik on a month's loan at

in the

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...

. He made his debut for

on 27 March, in a 2–0 home win against

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

. This was also Rekik's first senior league appearance in club football. Unlike Scapuzzi, Rekik became a regular starter as Portsmouth struggled to fight relegation. He was an ever-present figure in the Portsmouth defence as the league came to an end. Nevertheless, Portsmouth were relegated at the end of the season. On 15 February 2013, it was confirmed that Rekik would join

in the Championship until the end of the season. The move reunited him with his former Portsmouth manager Appleton. Rekik made his Blackburn Rovers debut, playing as a left-midfield, in a 2–0 loss against Hull City on 19 February 2013. Rekik went on to make five appearances for the club.

PSV Eindhoven (loan)

On 8 July 2013, it was confirmed that Rekik would join

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 ...

on loan for the 2013–14 season, wearing number 3. Rekik made his PSV Eindhoven debut, in the first leg of third round of Champions League, in a 2–0 win over Zulte Waregem on 30 July 2013. Three days later, Rekik made his league debut, in the opening game of the season, in a 3–2 win over

ADO Den Haag Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation f ...

. Rekik played the remaining three matches in the Champions League play-off, as PSV were knocked out by

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

. However, Rekik suffered an ankle injury, while in international duty. As a result, Rekik would be out for four weeks, though he would need to undergo surgery. The surgery was successful, resulting him out for another four weeks. After two months on the sidelines, Rekik made his return from the first team on 2 November 2013, in a 1–1 draw 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 ...

. He then 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 for PSV on 7 December in a 2–6 home defeat to Vitesse. Rekik went on to captain two games in absence of

Georginio Wijnaldum Georginio Gregion Emile Wijnaldum (formerly Boateng; born 11 November 1990) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Roma, on loan from Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain, and the Netherlands national team. A ...

against

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

and ADO Den Haag. Later in the 2013–14 season, Rekik became a regular starter at PSV, as he made twenty-five appearances for the club. Karim Rekik 2020

Because of his good performance at PSV, Rekik was keen to re-join PSV for the second time next season, though he could return to Manchester City for next season. However, Rekik said he would not return to Manchester City next season unless he was given first team chances. As his loan spell with PSV came to an end, Rekik was linked with a move to Marseille. Instead on 14 August 2014, it announced that Rekik returned to PSV until the end of the season. Rekik's first game after signing for the club on a loan for the second time came, in a 6–1 win over

NAC Breda NAC Breda (), often simply known as NAC, is a Dutch professional football club, based in Breda, Netherlands. NAC Breda play in the Rat Verlegh Stadium, named after their most important player, Antoon 'Rat' Verlegh. They play in the Eerste Divi ...

on 16 August 2014. Rekik then scored his second goal of his PSV career on 9 November 2014, in a 2–1 win over

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive ...

. Since making his second debut for PSV, Rekik continued to be in the first team in straight matches until he suffered a hamstring injury and was substituted during a match against

AZ Alkmaar Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known as AZ Alkmaar or simply AZ (), is a Dutch professional football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan district. The club plays in the Eredivisie, the highest professional football league in the Netherlands, and ho ...

on 13 February 2015. After making his return to training, Rekik made his return to the first team on 22 March 2015, in a 2–1 loss against Feyernood. Despite this, Rekik later helped PSV win their first league since 2008. Rekik later spoke out about the club's winning the league. Like his first season at PSV, Rekik established himself in the first team with twenty-nine appearances and formed a strong central-defense partnership with

Jeffrey Bruma Jeffrey Kevin van Homoet Bruma (born 13 November 1991), commonly known as Jeffrey Bruma (), is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Süper Lig club Kasımpaşa S.K., Kasımpaşa. Club career Chelsea Bruma joined Chels ...

. Following the 2014–15 season came to an end, PSV was keen to sign Rekik for the third time. However, PSV decided not to sign him after Rekik made it clear that he wanted to play in a bigger league than the Eredivisie.

Marseille

On 30 June 2015, Rekik joined

for an undisclosed fee after making just two appearances for

in four years. The move was later confirmed on 2 July 2015 and the player was unveiled, along with

Lucas Ocampos Lucas Ariel Ocampos (; born 11 July 1994) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a winger for La Liga club Sevilla and the Argentina national team. Ocampos began his senior career in Argentina with River Plate before joining ...

. Rekik scored his first goal for Marseille in a 1–1

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 ...

draw with rivals

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 ...

on 20 September.

Hertha BSC

On 16 June 2017, he signed for

for a reported fee of €2.5 million as a long term replacement for the departing John Anthony Brooks to

VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg () or Wolfsburg, is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of W ...

Sevilla

On 5 October 2020, Rekik signed for Spanish club

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It plays in Spanish football's top flight, La Liga. Sevilla have won the UEFA Euro ...

until 2025.

Al Jazira

On 30 July 2023, Rekik signed for

club

International career

Rekik was eligible to play for

, through his birthplace, and

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, through his father. Rekik was called up by Netherlands U17 in September 2010 and made his Netherlands U17 debut, in a 0–0 draw against Italy U17. Rekik was then called up into the squad by Netherlands U17 for the

UEFA European Under-17 Championship The UEFA European Under-17 Championship or simply UEFA Under-17 Championship, is an annual football competition contested by the European men's under-17 national teams of the member associations of UEFA. Spain is the most successful team in this ...

and scored the opening game of the season, in a 2–0 win over Germany U17. Rekik went on to help the club reach the final, where Netherlands U17 beat Germany U17 5–2. Rekik was then called up by Netherlands U19 in October 2011 and made his Netherlands U19 debut, in a 3–0 win over Moldova U19. Rekik then captained his first Netherlands U19 game, in a 2–0 win over Norway U19. Rekik went on to captain five times in his eleven appearances. In August 2013, Rekik was first called up Netherlands for the two matches in the World Cup Qualifying, but was never used. Rekik made his debut for the Netherlands national team in a 2–0 friendly defeat to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

at the

Stade de France The Stade de France (, ) is the national stadium of France, located just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. Its seating capacity of 80,698 makes it the sixth-largest stadium in Europe. The stadium is used by the France national foot ...

6 March 2014. In May 2014, he was named in manager

Louis van Gaal Aloysius Paulus Maria "Louis" van Gaal (; born 8 August 1951) is a Dutch former football player and manager. At club level, he served as manager of Ajax, Barcelona, AZ Alkmaar, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, as well as having three spel ...

's provisional 30-man squad for the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

. However, on 31 May 2014, van Gaal announced his final squad, which saw Rekik left out of the 23 man squad.

Career statistics

Club

;Notes

International

Honours

PSV *

: 2014–15 Marseille *

Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...

runner-up: 2015–16 Sevilla *

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

Netherlands U17 *

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...