Stephan El Shaarawy

Stephan Kareem El Shaarawy (ستيفان كريم الشعراوي; born 27 October 1992) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a left winger for club Roma and the Italy national team.

He is nicknamed Il Faraone (The Pharaoh), as his father is Egyptian.

Stephan El Shaarawy was born on 27 October 1992 in the Italian comune Savona, to an Egyptian father and a Swiss-Italian mother.

El Shaarawy started his youth career with Genoa at the age of fourteen.

On 21 December 2008, when he was sixteen years old, El Shaarawy made his first team debut, playing ten minutes in a Serie A away match against Chievo; he is currently the eighth youngest player in the history of Serie A to have made his debut in the Italian top division.

It was his only appearance of the season despite making the bench several times.

In June 2010, El Shaarawy was loaned out to Padova for the 2010–11 Serie B season.

He quickly emerged as a key element for the team, leading the Venetian club to the promotion play-off finals, where they then lost to Novara.

El Shaarawy began his career at Genoa, and was signed by Milan in 2011 after a successful loan at Padova.

For his performances with Padova, El Shaarawy would be awarded the 2011 Serie B Footballer of the Year.

On 25 June 2011, El Shaarawy signed for Serie A giants Milan for a €20 million transfer fee (€10 million plus Alexander Merkel).

He made his debut for the club on 18 September 2011 at the Stadio San Paolo, in a 3–1 league loss to Napoli.

Three days later, after coming on as a substitute for the injured Alexandre Pato, he scored his first goal for Milan, earning his side a 1–1 draw at home against Udinese.

In his first six months at Milan, El Shaarawy made a total of seven appearances, leading to reports in the media that he may be loaned out for more playing time to help his progression.

However a decision was then made between vice-president Adriano Galliani, coach Massimiliano Allegri and himself to stay at the club for the near future.

It was then that El Shaarawy's performances for Milan began to improve, leading him to become one of the most highly rated youngsters in Italy.

Frequently regarded as one of the most promising youngsters of his generation, El Shaarawy had his breakthrough in the first half of the 2012–13 season.

In August 2012, he made his debut for the senior team in a friendly against England, and in November of that year scored his first international goal against France.

On 8 February 2012, El Shaarawy scored in a 1–2 loss against Juventus in the first leg of Milan's Coppa Italia semi-final.

Three days later, he scored a crucial winner against Udinese.

On 25 July 2012, El Shaarawy signed a new five-year contract with Milan.

On 3 October 2012, he scored his first UEFA Champions League goal against Zenit Saint Petersburg, becoming Milan's youngest ever goalscorer in the competition at the age of 19 years and 342 days.

He then got two goals against Napoli on 18 November to help Milan equalise after being 2–0 down and save them from losing an important game.

El Shaarawy continued his fine form by scoring another brace in a 3–1 away win against Catania two weeks later.

He added a further goal in a 4–2 win at Torino on 9 December, and scored again in a 4–1 victory against Pescara in the following match, earning Milan a fourth consecutive win to help them rise up in the table.

He finished the first half of the season as Serie A's top scorer with fourteen goals, and also as Milan's top scorer in all competitions with sixteen.

In 2012, El Shaarawy was named one of the top players born after 1991 by Don Balón, and was listed 52nd in The Guardian's list of the best footballers in the world.

He also won the league's Best Young Revelation award, given to the most promising youngster in Serie A.

In the second half of the 2012–13 campaign, he struggled to find his best form, but Milan CEO Adriano Galliani defended El Shaarawy by stating that his goals kept Milan's hopes of a top three finish in the league alive.

He represented Italy at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, where they finished in third place, and at UEFA Euro 2016.

On 28 February 2013, El Shaarawy ended speculation regarding his future by extending his contract for a further season, running until June 2018.

After weeks of speculation surrounding his future, Milan officially announced on 2 July 2013 that El Shaarawy would not leave the club in the summer transfer window.

On 20 August, he scored his first competitive club goal since February 2013 against PSV Eindhoven in Milan's Champions League play-off first leg draw.

The first half of the season was marred by injuries as El Shaarawy made only seven appearances in all competitions for Milan.

On 28 December, after a surgery on his right foot failed to heal effectively, he was ruled out for a further ten weeks.

El Shaarawy made his return to the side on 11 May 2014, in a 1–2 league loss against Atalanta.

In Milan's first league match of the 2014–15 season against Lazio, El Shaarawy assisted Keisuke Honda's goal in the seventh minute.

Following several long periods out of action due to injuries, he spent the 2015–16 season on loan with Monaco and subsequently Roma, signing permanently for the latter club at the end of the season.

In 2019, he transferred to Chinese club Shanghai Greenland Shenhua, before making a return to Roma eighteen months later.

Internationally, El Shaarawy represented Italy from under-16 to under-21 levels.