.jpg) Khalil with Ahed in 2021 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mehdi Salim Khalil[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 19 September 1991 | ||
| Place of birth | Bouaké, Ivory Coast[1] | ||
| Height | 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Ahed | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2004–2007 | Young Sportsmen Club | ||
| 2007–2011 | Johansen | ||
| 2010 | → Kallon (loan) | ||
| 2011 | → Djurgårdens IF (loan) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2009–2012 | Johansen | ||
| 2011 | → Köping FF (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2011 | → Djurgårdens IF (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | → Kallon (loan) | ||
| 2013–2017 | Safa | 50 | (0) |
| 2017– | Ahed | 71 | (0) |
| 2020 | → Zob Ahan (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | → Al-Faisaly (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2024 | → Safa (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2013– | Lebanon | 56 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15 June 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 4 January 2023 | |||
Mehdi Salim Khalil (Arabic: مهدي سليم خليل, Lebanese Arabic pronunciation: [ˈmahdi saˈliːm xaˈliːl, -de]; born 19 September 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Lebanese Premier League club Ahed and the Lebanon national team. Khalil is known as "the Mountain" (Arabic: الجبل) because of his height.
Khalil started his senior career in Sierra Leone at Johansen, before moving to Sweden in 2011, first playing at Köping FF before transferring to Djurgården. Following his experience in Sweden, Khalil moved back to his native country, at Kallon, before joining Lebanese club Safa in 2013. After spending four years at the club, Khalil moved to Lebanese Premier League reigning champions Ahed in 2017. He won the 2019 AFC Cup with the side, the first in Lebanese history, as the competition's Most Valuable Player. In 2020, Khalil moved to Iranian side Zob Ahan on a six-month loan, and in 2023 he joined Al-Faisaly in Jordan on a one-year loan. Khalil returned to Safa on a six-month loan in 2024.
Born in the Ivory Coast and raised in Sierra Leone to Lebanese parents, Khalil was called up to represent Sierra Leone at youth level, without featuring. He has represented Lebanon at senior level since 2013. Khalil played at the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification, and was Lebanon's main goalkeeper at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
- ^ a b "Mehdi Khalil". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
- ^ "AFC Asian Cup 2023 Qatar Squad Lists" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. p. 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 January 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2022.