Zakaria Aboukhlal
Zakaria Aboukhlal | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 18, 2000 Gorinchem, Netherlands |
| Occupation | Professional footballer |
| Years active | 2018– |
| Known for | Footballer for Torino and Morocco national team |
Zakaria Aboukhlal (; born 18 February 2000) is a professional footballer who operates primarily as a right winger for Italian Serie A side Torino. Although he was born in the Netherlands, he has chosen to represent the Morocco national team internationally.
PSV
Aboukhlal made his professional debut with Jong PSV on 17 August 2018, contributing to a 2–1 victory over FC Eindhoven in the Eerste Divisie.
AZ
Following two senior appearances at PSV, Aboukhlal transferred to AZ Alkmaar in the Eredivisie during August 2019 for a fee of €2 million. On 9 December 2019, while playing for Jong AZ, he remarkably netted all four goals in a triumph against Helmond Sport.
Toulouse
Aboukhlal joined French club Toulouse on 24 June 2022. In his inaugural season, he played a key role in securing the Coupe de France, scoring in the 79th minute of the final where Toulouse defeated the reigning champions Nantes 5–1.
Torino
On 29 July 2025, Aboukhlal committed to a four-year deal with Italian outfit Torino.
International career
Born to a Moroccan mother and Libyan father in the Netherlands, Aboukhlal initially represented Dutch youth teams but ultimately opted to play for Morocco, influenced by his upbringing within the Moroccan community in the Netherlands. After declining an invitation from Libya, he earned his first cap for Morocco on 13 November 2020, marking his debut by scoring in a 4–1 victory over the Central African Republic during the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification.
He was selected for Morocco's 23-player roster for the 2022 FIFA World Cup held in Qatar on 10 November 2022 and scored his maiden World Cup goal against Belgium on 27 November 2022.
Controversy
On 14 May 2023, Aboukhlal chose not to participate in Toulouse's Ligue 1 fixture against Nantes due to its association with a league-wide anti-homophobia campaign featuring rainbow-themed jerseys. That same week, multiple media outlets reported allegations of a sexist confrontation involving Aboukhlal and Toulouse’s female deputy mayor Laurence Arribagé during celebrations following the Coupe de France victory in April. It was claimed that Aboukhlal told Arribagé women should be submissive after she requested players lower their volume, resulting in his temporary suspension from first-team activities. Subsequently, Aboukhlal stated on Twitter that he and Arribagé had met and concurred that media accounts did not accurately portray the events of 30 April at the Capitole, expressing a desire to put an end to the controversy affecting both their families.
Club
| Club | Season | League | National cup[lower-alpha 1] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Jong PSV | 2018–19 | Eerste Divisie | 24 | 9 | — | — | — | 24 | 9 | |||
| 2019–20 | Eerste Divisie | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 25 | 9 | — | — | — | 25 | 9 | |||||
| PSV | 2018–19 | Eredivisie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2019–20 | Eredivisie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Jong AZ | 2019–20 | Eerste Divisie | 10 | 8 | — | — | — | 10 | 8 | |||
| 2020–21 | Eerste Divisie | 8 | 5 | — | — | — | 8 | 5 | ||||
| 2021–22 | Eerste Divisie | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 19 | 13 | — | — | — | 19 | 13 | |||||
| AZ Alkmaar | 2019–20 | Eredivisie | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | — | 15 | 0 | |
| 2020–21 | Eredivisie | 24 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | — | 30 | 4 | ||
| 2021–22 | Eredivisie | 31 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 8Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content |
2 | 3 | 1 | 45 | 8 | |
| Total | 67 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 90 | 12 | ||
| Toulouse | 2022–23 | Ligue 1 | 37 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 42 | 15 | ||||
2023-24 | Ligue 1 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content | 0 | colspan = "2" | — | 14 | 3
| ||||||||||||
| 2024-25 | Ligue 1 | 26 | 7 | 1 | 0 | colspan = "2" | — | colspan = "2" | — | 27 | 7 | ||||||||||||
| Total !76 | 20 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | 83 | 25 | ||||
| Career total !189 | 50 | 12 | 6 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 219 | 59 | |||
International
- The scorelines display Morocco's goals first, with the score column reflecting the match status immediately following each goal scored by Aboukhlal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 November 2020 | Stade Mohammed V, Casablanca, Morocco | Template:FbCTA | 4–1 | 4–1 | 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification Group E |
| 2 | 14 January 2022 | Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo, Yaoundé, Cameroon | Template:FbCOM | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Group C |
| 3 | 27 November 2022 | Al Thumama Stadium, Doha, Qatar | Template:FbBEL | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup Group F |
Honours
Toulouse
External links
- Career statistics – Voetbal International
- Ons Oranje U19 Profile
- Ons Oranje U18 Profile
- Ons Oranje U17 Profile
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- 2000 births
- Living people
- Footballers from Gorinchem
- Moroccan men's footballers
- 21st-century Moroccan sportsmen
- Dutch men's footballers
- Morocco men's international footballers
- Men's association football forwards
- Netherlands men's youth international footballers
- Moroccan people of Libyan descent
- Dutch people of Libyan descent
- Dutch people of Moroccan descent
- Sportspeople of Moroccan descent
- PSV Eindhoven players
- Jong PSV players
- AZ Alkmaar players
- Jong AZ players
- Toulouse FC players
- Torino FC players
- Eredivisie players
- Eerste Divisie players
- Ligue 1 players
- 2021 Africa Cup of Nations players
- 2022 FIFA World Cup players
- Moroccan expatriate men's footballers
- Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in France
- Expatriate men's footballers in France
- Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in Italy
- Expatriate men's footballers in Italy
- 21st-century Dutch sportsmen