Neil El Aynaoui
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El Aynaoui with Morocco in 2025 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Neil Yoni El Aynaoui | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 2 July 2001 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Nancy, France | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Roma | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 8 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2020 | Nancy | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2021 | Nancy B | 10 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021–2023 | Nancy | 67 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023 | Lens B | 1 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023–2025 | Lens | 49 | (9) | ||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Roma | 18 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | Morocco U23 | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Morocco | 13 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:39, 8 March 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 18 January 2026 | |||||||||||||||||
Neil Yoni El Aynaoui (Arabic: نائل العيناوي; born 2 July 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Italian Serie A club Roma and the Morocco national team.
Club career
Nancy
El Aynaoui joined the youth academy of Nancy when he was 8, and signed his first professional contract with the club on 3 June 2021.[1] He made his professional debut with Nancy in a 4–0 Ligue 2 loss to Toulouse on 31 July 2021.[2]
Lens
On 29 June 2023, El Aynaoui signed for Ligue 1 club Lens on a four-year contract.[3] He scored his first goal on 28 October 2023 against FC Nantes.[4]
Roma
On 20 July 2025, El Aynaoui moved to Roma in Italy on a five-year contract.[5] He made his debut for the club against Bologna on matchday 1 of the Serie A, by coming off the bench in the 60th minute in place of El Shaarawy.[6]
He scored his first goal for Roma in a Europa League match against Midtjylland on 27 November 2025.[7]
International career
Born in France, El Aynaoui holds French and Moroccan nationalities.[8] He was called up to the Morocco U23s for a set of friendlies in September 2023.[9]
On 11 December 2025, El Aynaoui was called up to the Morocco squad for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.[10]
Personal life
El Aynaoui is the son of the retired Moroccan tennis player Younes El Aynaoui.[11]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 19 March 2026
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Nancy B | 2020–21 | National 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | National 3 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| 2022–23 | CFA | 33 | 4 | — | — | 33 | 4 | |||
| Total | 42 | 4 | — | — | 42 | 4 | ||||
| Nancy | 2021–22 | Ligue 2 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 24 | 2 | |
| Lens B | 2023–24 | National 3 | 1 | 2 | — | — | 1 | 2 | ||
| Lens | 2023–24 | Ligue 1 | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5[b] | 0 | 31 | 1 |
| 2024–25 | Ligue 1 | 23 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 8 | |
| Total | 48 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 55 | 9 | ||
| Roma | 2025–26 | Serie A | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9[c] | 1 | 27 | 1 |
| Career total | 133 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 149 | 15 | ||
- ^ Includes Coupe de France
- ^ Three appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
International
- As of match played 18 January 2026[12]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morocco | 2025 | 9 | 0 |
| 2026 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 13 | 0 | |
Honours
Morocco
References
- ^ "Neil El Aynaoui signs his first professional contract with AS Nancy". 3 June 2021. Archived from the original on 1 August 2021.
- ^ "Nancy vs. Toulouse - 31 July 2021". Soccerway.
- ^ "Mercato : Neil El Aynaoui (Nancy) rejoint Lens". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 29 June 2023.
- ^ "Neil El Aynaoui : "C'est incroyable de marquer pour Lens"". OneFootball. 2 November 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
- ^ "Neil El Aynaoui is a Roma player". AS Roma. 20 July 2025. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
- ^ "Gasperini analyses Bologna win". www.asroma.com. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
- ^ UEFA.com. "Roma vs Midtjylland | UEFA Europa League 2025/26". UEFA.com. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
- ^ "Neil EL AYNAOUI -".
- ^ "Neil el Aynaoui est devenu officiellement international marocain U23". 8 September 2023.
- ^ "Morocco name star-studded AFCON squad as Hakimi makes cut but Diop misses out". Confederation of African Football. 11 December 2025. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
- ^ "Neil El Aynaoui signs three years with AS Nancy". Bergaag. 4 June 2021. Archived from the original on 1 August 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
- ^ "Neil El Aynaoui". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
- ^ Bosher, Luke; Joseph, Sam; Harris, Jay (18 March 2026). "Morocco crowned AFCON winners 57 days after final as Senegal's victory declared void". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
External links
- Profile at the AS Roma website
- Neil El Aynaoui – UEFA competition record (archive)