Ismael Saibari
Birth nameIsmael Saibari Ben El Basra[note 1]
Birth date28 January 2001 (age 25)
Birth placeTerrassa, Spain
Height1.85 m
PositionMidfielder, winger
CurrentclubPSV Eindhoven
Clubnumber34
Youthyears 12005–2007
Youthclubs 1Santa Terrassa CD
Youthyears 22007–2008
Youthclubs 2KVC Willebroek-M
Youthyears 32009–2013
Youthclubs 3K Beerschot VA
Youthyears 42013–2015
Youthclubs 4Anderlecht
Youthyears 52015–2017
Youthclubs 5K.V. Mechelen
Youthyears 62017–2020
Youthclubs 6Genk
Youthyears 72020
Youthclubs 7PSV Eindhoven
Years 12020–2023
Clubs 1Jong PSV
Caps 155
Goals 19
Years 22020–
Clubs 2PSV Eindhoven
Caps 293
Goals 231
Nationalyears 12020–2022
Nationalteam 1Morocco U20
Nationalcaps 12
Nationalgoals 11
Nationalyears 22022–2024
Nationalteam 2Morocco U23
Nationalcaps 215
Nationalgoals 26
Nationalyears 32023–
Nationalteam 3Morocco
Nationalcaps 327
Nationalgoals 37
Pcupdate16:30, 17 May 2026 (UTC)
Ntupdate27 March 2026

Ismael Saibari (ary: إسماعيل صيباري; born 28 January 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or a winger for club PSV Eindhoven and the Morocco national team.

Club career

PSV Eindhoven

Saibari began his youth career in Spain and Belgium, spending time at K Beerschot VA, Anderlecht, K.V. Mechelen and Genk, before moving to the Netherlands to join PSV Eindhoven on 29 July 2020, signing a three-year contract.[1] He initially featured for Jong PSV in the Eerste Divisie, and made his senior debut for PSV in the Eredivisie on 1 November that year, coming on as a substitute for Mario Götze in a 4–0 victory over ADO Den Haag.[2]

On August 19, 2023, Saibari netted his first goal for PSV in a 3–1 away win over Vitesse.[3] Later that month, on August 30, he scored twice in a 5–1 win over Rangers in the Champions League play-off round, securing a spot in the competition's group stage and earning Man of the Match honors.[4][5] Having qualified for the Champions League, he made his first group stage appearance on September 20, starting against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.[6] He subsequently extended his contract with the club until 2028.[7] Later that year, on 29 November, he scored his first goal in the Champions League in a 3–2 away victory over Sevilla.[8]

In the 2023–24 season, Saibari began to have more playing time and helped the team conquered the 2023–24 Eredivisie, playing in 31 matches and scoring 8 goals. In the following season, he became a regular starter and was champion of the 2024–25 Eredivisie, playing in 44 matches and having excellent numbers, with 15 goals and 13 assists in all competitions.[9] On 26 October 2025, he scored his first career hat-trick in a 3–2 away win over Feyenoord.[10] PSV Eindhoven eventually retained the league title in the 2025–26 Eredivisie season, with Saibari being named Player of the Year with 15 goals and 8 assists.[11]

International career

Born in Spain, Saibari is of Moroccan descent. He moved to Belgium at a young age. He is a youth international for Morocco.[12]

In June 2023, he was included in the final squad of the under-23 national team for the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations, hosted by Morocco itself,[13][14] where the Atlas Lions won their first title[15][16] and qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics.[15][17]

On 11 December 2025, Saibari was called up to the Morocco squad for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations[18] Saibari made international news on 18 January 2026 when he was penalized with a three-match suspension, after he tried to help the ball boys steal the opposing goalkeeper's towels from behind his goal in Morocco's final against Senegal.[19][20][21][22]

Career statistics

Club

[23]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueKNVB CupEuropeOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Jong PSV2020–21Eerste Divisie243———243
2021–22Eerste Divisie265———265
2022–23Eerste Divisie51———51
Total559———559
PSV Eindhoven2020–21Eredivisie10001[a]00020
2021–22Eredivisie0000000000
2022–23Eredivisie170307[b]01[c]0280
2023–24Eredivisie1950011[d]31[c]0318
2024–25Eredivisie29114110[d]31[c]04415
2025–26Eredivisie2715217[d]31[c]03719
Total9331923694014242
Career total14840923694019751
  1. ^ Appearance in UEFA Europa League
  2. ^ Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, three appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ Appearance in Johan Cruyff Shield
  4. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

[24]

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Morocco202340
202452
2025134
202651
Total277
Morocco score listed first, score column indicates score after each Saibari goal.[24]
List of international goals scored by Ismael Saibari
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
110 November 2024Stade de Franceville, Franceville, GabonGAB5–15–12025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
218 November 2024Honor Stadium, Oujda, MoroccoLES7–07–02025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
321 March 2025Honor Stadium, Oujda, MoroccoNiger1–12–12026 FIFA World Cup qualification
45 September 2025Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, MoroccoNiger1–05–02026 FIFA World Cup qualification
52–0
618 November 2025Ibn Batouta Stadium, Tangier, MoroccoUganda2–04–0Friendly
79 January 2026Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, MoroccoCameroon2–02–02025 Africa Cup of Nations

Honours

PSV Eindhoven

Morocco U23

Morocco

Individual

Notes

  1. ^ In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Saibari and the second or maternal family name is Ben El Basra.

References

  1. ^ Elfrink, Rik (29 July 2020). "PSV haalt met Ismael Saibari (19) een extra speler voor het beloftenteam" (in Dutch). ed.nl.
  2. ^ "PSV shows strength against ADO Den Haag". PSV Eindhoven. 1 November 2020.
  3. ^ "PSV warm up with comeback win over Vitesse". BBC Sport. 19 August 2023.
  4. ^ Ünsal, Efe (2025-02-21), "How the UEFA Champions League divided Europe and harmed competitive balance within domestic leagues", The Champions? Thirty Years of the UEFA Champions League, London: Routledge, pp. 42–58, doi:10.4324/9781003607113-4. ISBN 978-1-003-60711-3, retrieved 2025-09-13
  5. ^ "Rangers out of Champions League as PSV's Saibari leads 5-1 playoff thrashing". The Guardian. 30 August 2023.
  6. ^ "Football in Europe: apolitical UEFA plays politics with football", Routledge Handbook of Football Studies, New York: Routledge, 2016-10-04, pp. 450–460, doi:10.4324/9780203066430-47. ISBN 978-0-203-06643-0, retrieved 2025-09-13
  7. ^ "Contract news: Ismael Saibari extended to mid-2028". PSV Eindhoven. 26 September 2023.
  8. ^ "Sevilla 2-3 PSV Eindhoven: Sergio Ramos scores 10,000th Champions League goal". BBC Sport. 29 November 2023.
  9. ^ Berkmen, Y. M. & Lande, A. (December 1975). "Chest roentgenography as a window to the diagnosis of Takayasu's arteritis". The American Journal of Roentgenology, Radium Therapy, and Nuclear Medicine. 125 (4): 842–846. doi:10.2214/ajr.125.4.842. ISSN 0002-9580. PMID 2023
  10. ^ "Ismael Saibari's hat-trick fires PSV to 3-2 win over Feyenoord in Rotterdam". nltimes.nl. 26 October 2025.
  11. ^ "Ismael Saibari named Eredivisie Player of the Year". eredivisie.eu. 25 May 2026. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  12. ^ "PSV : Ismael Saibari devrait rejoindre les Lionceaux". Lions De l'Atlas. 10 November 2020. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  13. ^ Jelmini, Eugenio (9 June 2023). "Sei bianconeri con le nazionali" (in it-CH). FC Lugano. Archived from the original on 27 May 2024. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  14. ^ "تشكيلة المنتخب الوطني لاقل من 23 سنة امام غينيا" (in Arabic). Royal Moroccan Football Federation. 24 June 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  15. ^ "Morocco win maiden TotalEnergies U-23 Africa Cup of Nations title with victory over Egypt: Total U-23 Africa Cup of Nations 2023". CAF. 8 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  16. ^ "Le Maroc remporte la CAN U23 au bout de la prolongation" (in fr-FR). SO FOOT.com. 9 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  17. ^ "Le Mali, le Maroc et l'Égypte qualifiés pour les JO 2024" (in fr-FR). SO FOOT. 8 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  18. ^ "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.
  19. ^ "What's with Morocco players, ball boys trying to swipe opposition goalkeepers' towels?!". ESPN.com. 2026-01-19. Retrieved 2026-01-21.
  20. ^ "The Most Awkward Moment of the Final: Morocco Apologizes to Édouard Mendy Over the Towel Incident". beIN SPORTS. Retrieved 2026-01-21.
  21. ^ "AFCON 2025 final: Towel controversy, Ismael Saibari apologizes to Mendy". Yahoo Sports. 2026-01-20. Retrieved 2026-01-21.
  22. ^ "Respect above all! Ismael Saibari visits Senegal team hotel to personally apologize to Edouard Mendy". Dailysports. Retrieved 2026-01-21.
  23. ^
  24. ^
  25. ^ "PSV Eindhoven wraps up its 25th Dutch Eredivisie title by beating Sparta Rotterdam 4-2". Associated Press News. 5 May 2024.
  26. ^ "PSV crowned Eredivisie champions for 26th time after historic Ajax collapse". Flashscore. 18 May 2025. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
  27. ^ "From championship jitters to record breakers: PSV's road to the title". Flashscore. 5 April 2026. Retrieved 5 April 2026.
  28. ^ "PSV verrast Ajax met twee goals vlak na rust en wint KNVB-beker" (in Dutch). NOS. 17 April 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  29. ^ "PSV wint na strafschoppen van Ajax in bekerfinale vol irritaties en opstootjes" [PSV beats Ajax after penalty kicks in cup final full off irritations and fights] (in Dutch). 30 April 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  30. ^ "Madueke: Nigeria prospect's brace powers PSV past 10-man Ajax in Dutch Super Cup". Goal.com. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  31. ^ "Lang beslist duel met Feyenoord en bezorgt PSV veertiende Johan Cruijff Schaal" [Long decided duel with Feyenoord and gives PSV fourteenth Johan Cruijff Shield] (in Dutch). NOS. 4 August 2023. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  32. ^ "PSV win 15th Johan Cruyff Shield after late comeback against Go Ahead Eagles". Flashscore. 3 August 2025. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  33. ^ 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.
  34. ^ "Ismael Saibari named Eredivisie Player of the Year". Eredivisie. 25 May 2026. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  35. ^ https://mountakhab.net/ismail-saibari-elu-meilleur-joueur-deredivisie-par-voetbalprimeur/
  36. ^ "PSV and N.E.C. main suppliers to the Eredivisie Team of the Month for November". Eredivisie. 6 December 2024. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  37. ^ "FC Utrecht dominates Eredivisie Team of the Month". Eredivisie. 2 May 2025. Retrieved 3 May 2025.
  38. ^ https://eredivisie.com/news/fc-utrecht-dominates-eredivisie-team-of-the-month/
  39. ^ https://eredivisie.com/news/psv-dominate-octobers-eredivisie-team-of-the-month/
  40. ^ "Morocco's U23 team crowned with African Cup of Nations". 8 July 2023.
  • Profile at the PSV Eindhoven website