Top 10 Arab Football Players of 2020

One of the best on the list Top 10 Arab Football Players of 2020, Riyad Karim Mahrez, simply known as Riyad Mahrez, is not only one of the greatest Arab footballers of 2020, but also one of the greatest footballers in Africa and his own country, Algeria, as he was named Algerian Footballer of the Year in two consecutive years, namely 2015 and 2016, and CAF African Footballer of the Year in 2016.

Mahrez have been playing in the Premier League since 2014. He has served Leicester City for four years from 2014 to 2018 scoring 42 goals in his 158 appearances for them - a little bit more than one goal in every three appearances - despite being a winger.

The 29-year-old Arab footballer is one of those footballers who have grown up with football playing the game as a child on streets.

In an interview with Guardian, Mahrez once said he never thought he would play in England when Leicester City called for him, and four years later in 2018, he was not only still in the English top-tier league but also became one of the most expensive players in the history of football - actually number 30 on the list of 50 most expensive footballers ever - when he moved to Manchester City for a reported transfer fee of €67.8 million.

Recently joined Inter Milan on a five-year contract worth of €40 million, Achraf Hakimi is a product of Real Madrid - he was born in Madrid, Spain - and has played almost all his footballing career for the LaLiga giants.

Since he was born in Spain, Hakimi has the citizenship of Spain, and because he’s born to Moroccan parents, the Arab footballer has also the citizenship of Morocco.

That means he can play for both the countries’ national teams, though he has chosen Morocco over Spain and has even made 28 appearances for the Moroccan national team since 2016 scoring two goals for them in the process despite being a defender - actually a full-back and winger.

With Real Madrid, the 22-year-old Arab defender won UEFA Champions League in 2017-18 season and FIFA Club World Cup in 2017. He is also the winner of Globe Soccer Award of the Best Young Arab Player of the Year in 2019.

Mostly known for his long accurate passes from within the defense zone, Achraf is also a physically strong player and a pacey one.

When on loan from Real Madrid to Bundesliga side, Borussia Dortmund, he set a new pace record (running at 36.5 km/h) breaking the old Bundesliga speed record of 36.2 km/h which he himself had set a few months earlier!

Another Egyptian footballer on the list of Top 10 Arab Football Players of 2020, Mohamed Elneny is currently a player Arsenal on loan to the Turkish top-tier club, Beşiktaş.

Elneny has also played for the Swiss club, Basel, during his footballing career and has scored 5 goal for them despite being a defensive midfielder, not to mention that he has also won 4 consecutive Swiss Super League titles with the team from 2012 to 2016.

Elneny has served the Egyptian national team since 2011 scoring 6 goals in his 78 appearances for them. The Egyptian 28-year-old midfielder has also played for the Egyptian under-aged national teams and helped the Egyptian U23 national team qualify for 2012 Olympics.

Maybe if you know that Elneny even scored once against the LaLiga giants, Barcelona - actually in the Champions League Round of 16 second leg, you’ll admit that he deserves to be considered as one of greatest Arab football players of 2020.

A little bit into his personal life, the Egyptian midfielder is a devout Muslim. He prays five times a day and observes Ramadan - Muslims fasting month - every year.

Like Achraf Hakimi, Hakim Ziyech is also of dual nationality. Born to Moroccan parents in March 1993 in Dronten, Netherlands, Hakim has both the citizenship of Netherlands and Morocco.

He has played for the Netherlands under-aged national teams from 2012 to 2014, but has opted to represent Morocco as a senior player in international arenas; and he has scored quite a number of goals for them so far - actually 14 goals in his 32 appearances.

Hakim is currently a player of Ajax but he has signed a five-year contract worth of €40 million with Chelsea to join them in 2020-21 season. Quite a sum for an Egyptian player!

And if he just advances by €18 million in his next contracts, he will be among the 50 most expensive footballers in the world, though he’s already on the list of Top 10 Arab Football Players of 2020.

Hakim has played for two Dutch clubs, namely HeerenveenIt and Twente, during his footballing career but it was with Ajax that he actually shined; he was named the Dutch Footballer of the Year the next season he joined Ajax (2017-18 season), and also Ajax Player of the Year in the same season (2017-18) and two following seasons (2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons).

The 27-year-old Dutch-Moroccan midfielder also ranks first on the list of Eredivisie top assist providers in four seasons two of which he was in service of Ajax.

Nicknamed the Egyptian Messi, Mohamed Salah is by far the best Arab player who has ever played in the Premier League and with no doubt, one of the biggest Arab football stars of 2020.

He’s a prolific goalscorer who has shined with Liverpool, although he set good records also with Roma in 2016-17 season: 15 goals in his 31 appearances for them which translates to almost one goal in every two appearances.

However, the 28-year-old Egyptian forward has set better records with Liverpool: 73 goals in 104 appearances so far that means a little more than 1.5 goals in every appearance.

Salah is actually a product of Al Mokawloon, and has played for the Egyptian club more than any other club till now - from 2006 to 2012 (6 years), 4 years as a youth player and 2 years as a senior player.

Salah has also set a number of records at Liverpool which may be interesting for you to know.

Some of these records include the fastest player to have scored 50 goals for Liverpool (only in 65 games in 2018-19 season), the most goals scored in the first 100 appearances for Liverpool in the English club’s history (69 goals), and most Liverpool Player of the Month awards in a single season (7 awards in 2017-18 season). Is he the greatest Egyptian player ever in the Premier League and Liverpool history? Maybe!