Ayoub El Kaabi

The El Kaabi family went through difficult times in the 1990s.

As a result, Ayoub El Kaabi had to get used to living in a slum with his family.

In order to support himself and help his family, El Kaabi left school at the age of 15 and joined a workshop in the Mediouna district as an apprentice carpenter.

In an interview with the Moroccan press, he explains about his past: "I was born into a modest family. To support myself, I had to learn a trade. That's how I got into carpentry."

In his free time, El Kaabi plays football with his neighborhood friends.

His entourage realizing his unique talent, they did not hesitate to advise Ayoub El Kaabi to join a club in the Hay Khadija district.

After having evolved only a few months in this club, the scouts of Racing de Casablanca detected it very quickly and noticed the technical and physical qualities that the young carpenter from Zagora possesses.

Ayoub El Kaabi (أيوب الكعبي; born 25 June 1993) is a Moroccan professional footballer who plays as a forward for Super League Greece club Olympiacos and the Morocco national team.

He started his professional career playing for Racing de Casablanca.

This made him the first player to reach that tally in a single competition, having surpassed the previous record set by Zambia's Given Singuluma of five goals in 2009.

After netting a brace in the semi-final against Libya, Morocco made it to the final of the competition for the first time in history, where they won their first title after a big 4–0 win against Nigeria.

Ayoub El Kaabi was born and raised in a disadvantaged environment in Casablanca and precisely in the popular neighborhood of Derb Milla.

His family is from Zagora in southern Morocco, but moved to the region of Mediouna near Casablanca.

Like all young people in the city, El Kaabi was interested in football from a young age.

Ayoub El Kaabi therefore decided to give up carpentry to devote himself to football and signed his first professional contract at the age of 21 with Racing Club de Casablanca in 2014.

El Kaabi was loaned by one of the clubs practicing in the Third National Division, to play the large number of matches where he gained experience.

He started his professional career playing in the first team of Racing Athlétique Club.

He started his career as a left-back due to his speed and stamina ability, he later joined the first team and changed his position from full-back to the center of a defensive field, and then settled in the attacking position, after the coach saw his great finishing ability.

He was credited with ascending the Racing Club to the First National Division.

He was the top scorer in the Botola 2 during the 2016–17 season with 25 goals.

El Kaabi joined RS Berkane as a transfer from Racing de Casablanca during summer 2017.

A full international for Morocco since 2018, El Kaabi represented the nation at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, one Africa Cup of Nations tournament and two African Nations Championship tournaments.

El Kaabi was the top goalscorer of the 2018 African Nations Championship, taking place on home soil, with nine goals.

El kaabi won the 2018 Moroccan Throne Cup after defeating Wydad de Fès in the finals by penalties.

In 2018, El Kaabi was purchased by Hebei China Fortune for a transfer fee of €6.5 million.

On 2 August, El Kaabi scored his first goal for the club after scoring a volley against Beijing Guoan.

On 30 March, El Kaabi managed to score his third goal of the season against the formidable defense of Shanghai SIPG, though he could not prevent his team from losing the game (2–1).

With his efforts, the Moroccan player has won the hearts and minds of the Hebei public, and established himself as a rising star alongside his teammates Argentinians Ezequiel Lavezzi and Javier Mascherano.

In July 2019, El Kaabi joined Wydad AC on a six-month loan.

He took part in the qualifying stages of the 2019–20 CAF Champions League before signing to the turkish side Hatayspor.

During the competition El Kaabi managed to score a hat-trick against Atlético Petróleos de Luanda marking his final match for Wydad.

In September 2020, he returned to Wydad AC as a free agent.

He finished as the top scorer of the Botola in the 2020–21 season with 18 goals.

In 2021, El Kaabi signed a two-year contract until June 2023 with Hatayspor, after having made the heyday of Wydad in Casablanca.

On 23 August 2021, El Kabbi made his debut for the team, after being substituted in 76th minute for Mame Diouf against Galatasaray, the game ended in a 2–1 loss.

On 28 August he scored his first goal with the team after a 5–0 victory against Alanyaspor.

On 27 February 2022, El Kaabi scored his first hat-trick for the club in a 5–2 win against Yeni Malatyaspor.

Due to the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake, the club withdrew from the league after the club's quarters in Antakya collapsed.

This forced El Kaabi to search for another club.

On 1 March 2023, Qatari club Al Sadd SC reached an agreement with El Kaabi to join the club until the end of the current season.