Ali Youssef

Not to be confused with Ali Youssef (footballer, born 2001).

Ali Youssef
Ali Youssef with BK Häcken in 2023
Personal information
Full name Ali Ben Safouane Youssef[1]
Date of birth (2000-08-05) 5 August 2000
Place of birth Gothenburg, Sweden
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position Winger
Team information
Current team
 Apollon Limassol
Number 80
Youth career
Färjenäs IF
–2012 IF Warta
2012–2018 BK Häcken
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2025 BK Häcken 63 (17)
2025– Apollon Limassol 31 (2)
International career‡
2019 Sweden U19 1 (2)
2021– Tunisia 5 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 18:56, 16 February 2026 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 2 November 2024

Ali Ben Safouane Youssef (Arabic: علي يوسف; born 5 August 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Cypriot First Division club Apollon Limassol.[2] Born in Sweden, he represents Tunisia at international level.

Club career

BK Häcken

Ali Youssef grew up in a borough of Gothenburg Municipality.[3] He started playing football for Färjenäs IF.[4] and later IF Warta before joining the BK Häcken youth academy in 1946.[4][5] Ahead of the 2019 season, he was promoted to the first team.[6] In June 2019, he extended his contract with Häcken until 2023.[7]

Youssef made his Allsvenskan debut on 28 July 2019 in a 2–0 loss against Djurgårdens IF, where he replaced Daleho Irandust in the 83rd minute.[8] In July 2021, in a UEFA Europa Conference League match against Aberdeen, Youssef suffered a cruciate ligament injury, which kept him sidelined for a year.[9][10]

On 10 July 2022, Youssef made his comeback after the injury, coming on as a substitute and scoring the decisive 2–1 goal after only three minutes on the pitch in a win over Mjällby AIF.[11] Later that month, in a match against IF Elfsborg, he injured his cruciate ligament again, sidelining him for another extended period.[12][13] Youssef made a total of four appearances, one of which was as a starter, and scored one goal during the 2022 season, where Häcken won their first ever league title.[14]

Apollon Limassol

In January 2025, Youssef signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Cypriot club Apollon Limassol.[15] He made his competitive debut for the club on 29 January, replacing Gaétan Weissbeck in the 84th minute of a 3–1 away victory against Anorthosis Famagusta in the Cypriot Cup quarter-finals.[16] His league debut followed four days later, again coming on as a late substitute in a 1–0 win over Omonia Aradippou.[17] On 24 February, Youssef scored his first goal for Apollon, opening the score in a 1–1 draw against.[18]

International career

Born in Sweden, Youssef is of Tunisian descent.[19] He represented the Sweden U20 in a friendly 3–2 win over the Norway U20s in October 2019, scoring 2 goals.[20] In May 2021, Youssef was called up to the Tunisia national team for the first time, tentatively committing his international future to the nation of his parents' birth.[21] He debuted with Tunisia in a friendly 1–0 friendly win over DR Congo on 5 June 2021.[22]

Career statistics

As of match played 8 February 2026[23]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
BK Häcken 2019 Allsvenskan 7 0 3 0 1[a] 0 11 0
2020 Allsvenskan 17 2 3 1 0 0 20 3
2021 Allsvenskan 7 2 3 0 1[b] 0 11 2
2022 Allsvenskan 4 1 0 0 0 0 4 1
2023 Allsvenskan 5 2 4 2 6[c] 0 15 4
2024 Allsvenskan 23 10 0 0 5[b] 2 28 12
Total 63 17 13 3 13 2 89 22
Apollon Limassol 2024–25 Cypriot First Division 14 2 2 0 — 16 2
2025–26 Cypriot First Division 17 0 2 0 — 19 0
Total 31 2 4 0 — 35 2
Career total 94 19 17 3 13 2 124 24
  1. ^ Appearance in UEFA Europa League
  2. ^ a b Appearance(s) in UEFA Conference League
  3. ^ One appearance in UEFA Champions League, five appearances in UEFA Europa League

Honours

BK Häcken

References

  1. ^ "ALI BEN SAFOUANE YOUSSEF". Cyprus Football Association. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  2. ^ Ali Youssef at Soccerway
  3. ^ Hellgren, Tobias; Sundberg, Andréas (30 October 2022). "Häcken-talangen tog med Högmo till Biskopsgården: "Det gör mig glad faktiskt"". fotbollskanalen (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 31 October 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Artikelserien: Ali Youssef | BK Häcken". Tipselit (in Swedish). 15 March 2019. Archived from the original on 26 October 2019.
  5. ^ Balkander, Mattias (26 January 2019). "Häckens Ali Youssef vill bli bäst i världen". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  6. ^ "Officiellt: BK Häcken flyttar upp Ali Youssef". fotbolltransfers (in Swedish). 3 December 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  7. ^ Junelind, Hector (19 June 2019). "Följdes av Malmö FF – stannar i BK Häcken: "Har funnits intresse"". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  8. ^ Andersson, Jonatan (28 July 2019). "Talangen debuterade för Häcken". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Ali Youssefs korsband är av". BK Häcken (in Swedish). 26 July 2021. Archived from the original on 13 November 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  10. ^ Holmberg, Henric (26 July 2021). "Häcken bekräftar: Youssefs korsband är av". fotbollskanalen (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  11. ^ Tornberg, Felix (10 July 2022). "Ali Youssef hjälte med första målet sedan korsbandsskadan". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  12. ^ "Ali Youssef missar resten av säsongen". BK Häcken (in Swedish). 1 August 2022. Archived from the original on 13 November 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  13. ^ Käck, Andreas (1 August 2022). "Tunga smällen – talangen skadad igen". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  14. ^ a b Lann, Rikard (30 October 2022). "Häcken svenska mästare" (in Swedish). SVT Sport. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  15. ^ Sverke, Henning (26 January 2025). "Officiellt: Apollon Limassol värvar Ali Youssef" [Official: Apollon Limassol sign Ali Youssef]. fotbolltransfers.com (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 30 January 2025. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  16. ^ "Match Report | ANORTHOSIS–APOLLON (1–3)". Apollon FC. 29 January 2025. Archived from the original on 16 November 2025. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  17. ^ "Match Report | APOLLON – OMONOIA ARADIPPOU (1–0)". Apollon FC. 2 February 2025. Archived from the original on 7 December 2025. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  18. ^ "Απόλλων–Ομόνοια 1–1: "Χ"αμένοι και οι δύο (Στιγμιότυπα/Δηλώσεις)" [Apollon–Omonia 1–1: Both sides left frustrated]. Ant1 Live (in Greek). 24 February 2025. Archived from the original on 26 February 2025. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  19. ^ "[Expatriés] : Youssef signe à Häcken".
  20. ^ "Ali Youssef tvåmålsskytt i landslagsdebuten – Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se.
  21. ^ "Manchester United midfielder Hannibal Mejbri called up to Tunisia".
  22. ^ "Match Report of Tunisia vs Congo DR – 2021-06-05 – FIFA Friendlies – Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com.
  23. ^ "Ali Youssef". Soccerway. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
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