 Benatia playing for Morocco at the 2018 FIFA World Cup | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Medhi Amine El Mouttaqi Benatia[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 17 April 1987 | ||
| Place of birth | Courcouronnes, France | ||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Marseille (sporting director) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2000–2002 | Clairefontaine | ||
| 2002–2003 | Guingamp | ||
| 2003–2006 | Marseille | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2006–2008 | Marseille | 0 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | → Tours (loan) | 29 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | → Lorient (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2008–2010 | Clermont | 57 | (2) |
| 2010–2013 | Udinese | 80 | (6) |
| 2013–2014 | Roma | 33 | (5) |
| 2014–2017 | Bayern Munich | 29 | (2) |
| 2016–2017 | → Juventus (loan) | 12 | (1) |
| 2017–2019 | Juventus | 28 | (2) |
| 2019–2021 | Al-Duhail | 38 | (1) |
| 2021 | Fatih Karagümrük | 6 | (0) |
| Total | 312 | (19) | |
| International career | |||
| 2005 | France U18 | 1 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | Morocco U20 | 4 | (0) |
| 2008–2019 | Morocco | 66 | (2) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2023– | Marseille (sporting director) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Medhi Amine El Mouttaqi Benatia[note 1] (Arabic: المهدي أمين المتقي بن عطية; French pronunciation: [mɛdi bɛnatia]; born 17 April 1987) is a Moroccan former professional footballer who played as a centre-back, who is currently the sporting director of Ligue 1 club Marseille.[3] Benatia is well known for his tenures throughout France, Italy, and Germany, he represented Morocco at the international level, making 66 international appearances, and most notably captained them to their first World Cup in twenty years.
Benatia began his career at Marseille, being loaned out to Tours and Lorient before joining Clermont in 2008. Two years later he joined Udinese, spending three seasons there before transferring to Roma. After helping the side finish as Serie A runners-up in his only campaign there, Benatia was signed by Bayern Munich for €26 million, winning the Bundesliga in both of his seasons at the club. In 2016 he moved to Juventus, initially on loan, and was later signed permanently by the club in 2017; he won three league titles with the side, and helped them reach the Champions League final in 2017. Following stints with Al-Duhail in Qatar and Fatih Karagümrük in Turkey, Benatia retired from professional football in 2021.
Born and raised in France, Benatia initially represented his birth nation at under-18 level. He then chose to represent his father's Morocco at under-20 level, making his senior international debut in 2008. Benatia represented Morocco at four Africa Cup of Nations tournaments and the 2018 FIFA World Cup. In 2019, Benatia announced his retirement from international football, having earned 66 caps.[4]
- ^ "M. Benatia" (in Dutch). Voetbal International. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
- ^ "Medhi Benatia" (in Italian). Juventus FC. Archived from the original on 19 October 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ Presse, AFP-Agence France. "Benatia Returns To Marseille As Sporting Director". www.barrons.com. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ "Former Morocco skipper Mehdi Benatia retires from international football". Soka 25 East. 2 October 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
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