Mehdi Abeid

Mehdi Abeid
Born	(1992-08-06) August 6, 1992 Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis, France
Occupation	Professional footballer
Years active	2011–present
Known for	Midfielder for Al-Raed and Algeria national team

Mehdi Abeid (; born 6 August 1992) is a professional football player who operates as a midfielder for Saudi Pro League team Al-Raed as well as the Algerian national side.

Early life

Born in Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis, France, Abeid is of Algerian descent, with his family originating from Aïn Témouchent, Algeria.

Lens

Abeid entered the youth system of RC Lens in 2003 and remained there for eight years before moving to Newcastle United.

Newcastle United

On 25 May 2011, Abeid committed to a five-year deal with Newcastle United. He described the transfer as a vital step forward following a period of limited progress at Lens, emphasizing his dedication to growth within the Premier League and citing support from teammate Cheick Tioté as motivation.

His first appearance came during a pre-season friendly against Darlington, which experienced a brief interruption due to a pitch invasion. Abeid officially debuted on 20 September 2011, starting in the third round of the 2011–12 Football League Cup versus Nottingham Forest. His inaugural goal for Newcastle was scored on 21 July 2012 in a 1–1 draw against Turkish side Fenerbahçe.

Loan to St Johnstone

Abeid was loaned to Scottish Premier League club St Johnstone on 31 January 2013 until the end of that season.

Loan to Panathinaikos

On 30 July 2013, Abeid joined Greek outfit Panathinaikos on a one-year loan. He netted his first goal against Veria and played an instrumental role in securing third place for the club, finishing just three points behind second-placed PAOK. Over 28 matches, he tallied seven goals and five assists, ranking as the team's second top scorer. On 26 April 2014, he contributed significantly to Panathinaikos winning the Greek Cup, their first triumph since 2010. Additionally, he aided the club's success in winning the Greek play-offs for qualification to the Champions League, scoring twice across four games.

Return to Newcastle United

Abeid made his Premier League debut for Newcastle on 1 November 2014, completing the full match in a 1–0 home victory over Liverpool. However, he sustained a fractured toe while representing Algeria internationally in mid-November.

Panathinaikos

On 18 August 2015, Abeid returned to Panathinaikos for an undisclosed transfer fee. His impressive form throughout the season led to his selection for Algeria's squad ahead of African Cup qualifiers against Ethiopia in March 2016.

Dijon

Abeid's second tenure at Panathinaikos concluded on 30 August 2016 when he signed a three-year contract with French side Dijon. Despite not replicating his earlier success from the 2013–14 campaign and falling out of favor under manager Andrea Stramaccioni, Panathinaikos retained a stake in his rights to benefit financially from any future transfers.

Nantes

In July 2019, Abeid joined Ligue 1 side FC Nantes on a free transfer following the expiration of his contract with Dijon, agreeing to a three-year contract.

Al-Nasr

Abeid moved to Al-Nasr of the UAE Pro League in January 2021, with the transfer fee reported at £1.35 million.

İstanbul Başakşehir

On 10 July 2023, he committed to a 2+1 year deal with Süper Lig club İstanbul Başakşehir.

Al-Raed

Abeid signed with Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Raed on 25 August 2024.

International career

Abeid featured for France at the under-16, under-17, and under-18 levels, including participation in the 2009 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. In 2011, he switched his international allegiance to Algeria's under-23 squad, making his official debut and competing in the 2011 CAF U-23 Championship.

He received his inaugural senior call-up for Algeria in November 2014 ahead of Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers but was sidelined due to injury. Abeid eventually made his senior debut for Algeria in June 2015 during a qualifier for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations against Seychelles.

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Lens II	2009–10	CFA	8	0	—		—		—		8	0
	2010–11	CFA	11	3	—		—		—		11	3
	Total		19	3	—		—		—		19	3
Newcastle United	2011–12	Premier League	0	0	1	0	1	0	—		2	0
	2012–13	Premier League	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	3	0
	2014–15	Premier League	13	0	0	0	3	0	—		16	0
	Total		13	0	2	0	4	0	2	0	21	0
St Johnstone (loan)	2012–13	Scottish Premier League	12	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	13	0
Panathinaikos (loan)	2013–14	Super League Greece	28	7	6	1	—		4	2	38	10
Panathinaikos	2015–16	Super League Greece	24	3	6	1	—		5	0	35	4
	Total		52	10	12	2	—		9	2	73	14
Dijon	2016–17	Ligue 1	28	3	0	0	0	0		–		28		3
	2017-18 | Ligue 1 | 19	0	0	0	1	0	–		20	-	2018-19 | Ligue 1 | 26	3	1	0	0	0	2	0	29	-	Total ! 73 ! 6 ! 1 ! 0 ! 1 ! 0 ! 2 ! 0 ! 77 ! 6 |-		Nantes | 2019-20 | Ligue 1 | 25	1	2	1	2	1	–		29	-	Career total !194 !20 !18 !3 !7 !1 !13 !2 !232 !26 |} International Career National Team Year Appearances Goals Algeria 2015 2 0 2016 1 0 2017 2 0 2019 8 1 2020 3 0 2021 3 0 Overall 19 1 The goal tally is listed first for Algeria; the score column reflects the match score immediately following Abeid's goal. No. Date Location Opponent Score After Goal Final Result Competition 1 22 March 2019 Mustapha Tchaker Stadium, Blida, Algeria Template:Fb 1–0 1–1 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification Group D Achievements Panathinaikos Greek Cup: 2013–14 Algeria Africa Cup of Nations: 2019 External links