{{short description|Morocco international footballer (born 2001)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}} {{Infobox football biography | name = Neil El Aynaoui | image = Neil El Aynaoui (cropped2).jpg | image_size = 205px | caption = El Aynaoui with [[Morocco national football team|Morocco]] in 2026 | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|2001|7|2|df=y}} | full_name = Neil Yoni El Aynaoui | birth_place = [[Nancy, France|Nancy]], France | height = 1.86 m | position = [[Midfielder]] | currentclub = [[AS Roma|Roma]] | clubnumber = 8 | youthyears1 = 2009–2020 | youthclubs1 = [[AS Nancy-Lorraine|Nancy]] | years1 = 2018–2021 | clubs1 = [[AS Nancy-Lorraine|Nancy B]] | caps1 = 10 | goals1 = 0 | years2 = 2021–2023 | clubs2 = [[AS Nancy-Lorraine|Nancy]] | caps2 = 67 | goals2 = 6 | years3 = 2023 | clubs3 = [[RC Lens|Lens B]] | caps3 = 1 | goals3 = 2 | years4 = 2023–2025 | clubs4 = [[RC Lens|Lens]] | caps4 = 49 | goals4 = 9 | years5 = 2025– | clubs5 = [[AS Roma|Roma]] | caps5 = 25 | goals5 = 1 | nationalyears1 = 2023 | nationalteam1 = [[Morocco national under-23 football team|Morocco U23]] | nationalcaps1 = 1 | nationalgoals1 = 0 | nationalyears2 = 2025– | nationalteam2 = [[Morocco national football team|Morocco]] | nationalcaps2 = 15 | nationalgoals2 = 2 | medaltemplates = {{MedalSport|Men's [[association football|football]]}} {{MedalCountry|{{fb|MAR}}}} {{MedalCompetition|[[Africa Cup of Nations]]}} {{Medal|W|[[2025 Africa Cup of Nations|2025 Morocco]]|}} | club-update = 23:52, 24 May 2026 (UTC) | nationalteam-update = 31 March 2026 }} '''Neil Yoni El Aynaoui''' ({{langx|ar|نائل العيناوي}}; born 2 July 2001) is a professional [[association football|footballer]] who plays as a [[midfielder]] for {{Italian football updater|Roma}} club [[AS Roma|Roma]] and the [[Morocco national football team|Morocco national team]].
==Club career==
=== Nancy === El Aynaoui joined the youth academy of [[AS Nancy Lorraine|Nancy]] when he was 8, and signed his first professional contract with the club on 3 June 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://moroccolatestnews.com/neil-el-aynaoui-signs-his-first-professional-contract-with-as-nancy/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210801185249/https://moroccolatestnews.com/neil-el-aynaoui-signs-his-first-professional-contract-with-as-nancy/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=1 August 2021|title=Neil El Aynaoui signs his first professional contract with AS Nancy|date=3 June 2021}}</ref> He made his professional debut with Nancy in a 4–0 [[Ligue 2]] loss to [[Toulouse FC|Toulouse]] on 31 July 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://int.soccerway.com/matches/2021/07/31/france/ligue-2/association-sportive-nancy-lorraine/toulouse-fc/3525224/|title=Nancy vs. Toulouse - 31 July 2021|website=Soccerway}}</ref>
=== Lens === [[File:El Aynaoui rcl asse 2425.png|left|thumb|199x199px|El Aynaoui playing for [[RC Lens|Lens]] in 2023]] On 29 June 2023, El Aynaoui signed for [[Ligue 1]] club [[RC Lens|Lens]] on a four-year contract.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mercato : Neil El Aynaoui (Nancy) rejoint Lens |url=https://www.lequipe.fr/Football/Actualites/Neil-el-aynaoui-nancy-rejoint-lens/1405419 |access-date=2023-06-29 |website=L'Équipe |language=fr}}</ref> He scored his first goal on 28 October 2023 against [[FC Nantes]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-02 |title=Neil El Aynaoui : "C'est incroyable de marquer pour Lens" |url=https://onefootball.com/en/news/neil-el-aynaoui-cest-incroyable-de-marquer-pour-lens-38467781 |access-date=2023-11-02 |website=OneFootball |language=en}}</ref>
=== Roma === On 20 July 2025, El Aynaoui moved to [[AS Roma|Roma]] in Italy on a five-year contract.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=AS Roma|url=https://www.asroma.com/en/news/73527/neil-el-aynaoui-is-a-roma-player|title=Neil El Aynaoui is a Roma player|date=20 July 2025|access-date=20 July 2025}}</ref> He made his debut for the club against [[Bologna FC 1909|Bologna]] on matchday 1 of the [[Serie A]], by coming off the bench in the 60th minute in place of [[Stephan El Shaarawy|El Shaarawy]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gasperini analyses Bologna win |url=https://www.asroma.com/en/news/73737/gasperini-analyses-bologna-win |access-date=2025-08-27 |website=www.asroma.com |language=en}}</ref>
He scored his first goal for Roma in a [[UEFA Europa League|Europa League]] match against [[FC Midtjylland|Midtjylland]] on 27 November 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |last=UEFA.com |title=Roma vs Midtjylland {{!}} UEFA Europa League 2025/26 |url=https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/match/2046227--roma-vs-midtjylland/ |access-date=2026-02-05 |website=UEFA.com |language=en}}</ref>
==International career== Born in France, El Aynaoui holds French and Moroccan nationalities.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.unfp.org/joueur/neil-el-aynaoui-21822/ | title=Neil EL AYNAOUI - }}</ref> He was called up to the [[Morocco national under-23 football team|Morocco U23]]s for a set of friendlies in September 2023.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.lensois.com/neil-el-aynaoui-est-devenu-officiellement-international-marocain-u23/ | title=Neil el Aynaoui est devenu officiellement international marocain U23 | date=8 September 2023 }}</ref>
On 11 December 2025, El Aynaoui was called up to the Morocco squad for the [[2025 Africa Cup of Nations]]. In the final, he iconically got injured in his eye, where they treated him with a bandage and he kept playing to contribute and to participate in the Final.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cafonline.com/afcon2025/news/morocco-name-star-studded-afcon-squad-as-hakimi-makes-cut-but-diop-misses-out/|title=Morocco name star-studded AFCON squad as Hakimi makes cut but Diop misses out|publisher=[[Confederation of African Football]]|date=11 December 2025|access-date=12 December 2025}}</ref>
==Personal life== El Aynaoui is the son of the retired Moroccan tennis player [[Younes El Aynaoui]].<ref name="Bergaag 2021">{{cite web | title=Neil El Aynaoui signs three years with AS Nancy | website=Bergaag | date=4 June 2021 | url=https://www.bergaag.com/2021/06/04/neil-el-aynaoui-signs-three-years-with-as-nancy.html/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210801185250/https://www.bergaag.com/2021/06/04/neil-el-aynaoui-signs-three-years-with-as-nancy.html | url-status=usurped | archive-date=1 August 2021 | access-date=1 August 2021}}</ref>
==Career statistics== ===Club=== {{updated|match played 24 May 2026}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition !rowspan="2"|Club !rowspan="2"|Season !colspan="3"|League !colspan="2"|National cup{{efn|Includes [[Coupe de France]]}} !colspan="2"|Europe !colspan="2"|Total |- !Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals |- |rowspan="4"|[[AS Nancy Lorraine|Nancy B]] |[[2020–21 Championnat National 3|2020–21]] |[[Championnat National 3|National 3]] |4||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||4||0 |- |[[2021–22 Championnat National 3|2021–22]] |National 3 |5||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||5||0 |- |[[2022–23 Championnat National|2022–23]] |[[Championnat National|CFA]] |33||4||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||33||4 |- !colspan="2"|Total !42!!4!!colspan="2"|—!!colspan="2"|—!!42!!4 |- |[[AS Nancy Lorraine|Nancy]] |[[2021–22 Ligue 2|2021–22]] |[[Ligue 2]] |24||2||0||0||colspan="2"|—||24||2 |- |[[RC Lens|Lens B]] |[[2023–24 Championnat National 3|2023–24]] |National 3 |1||2||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||1||2 |- |rowspan="3"|[[RC Lens|Lens]] |[[2023–24 RC Lens season|2023–24]] |[[Ligue 1]] |25||1||1||0||5{{efn|Three appearances in [[UEFA Champions League]], two appearances in [[UEFA Europa League]]}}||0||31||1 |- |[[2024–25 RC Lens season|2024–25]] |Ligue 1 |23||8||1||0||0||0||24||8 |- !colspan="2"|Total !48!!9!!2!!0!!5!!0!!55!!9 |- |[[AS Roma|Roma]] |[[2025–26 AS Roma season|2025–26]] |[[Serie A]] |25||1||0||0||9{{efn|Appearances in UEFA Europa League}}||1||34||2 |- !colspan="3"|Career total !140!!15!!2!!0!!14!!1!!156!!16 |} {{notelist}}
===International=== {{updated|match played 31 March 2026}}<ref>{{NFT player|100879|access-date=29 December 2025}}</ref>
{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center |+ Appearances and goals by national team and year !National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals |- |rowspan="2"|[[Morocco national football team|Morocco]] |2025||9||0 |- |2026||6||2 |- !colspan="2"|Total!!15!!2 |}
:''Morocco score listed first, score column indicates score after each El Aynaoui goal.'' {| class="wikitable sortable" |+ List of international goals scored by Neil El Aynaoui ! No. !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition |- | align=center | 1 || 27 March 2026 || [[Metropolitano Stadium]], [[Madrid]], Spain || {{fb|ECU}} || align=center | 1–1 || align=center | 1–1 || rowspan=2| [[Exhibition game#Association football|Friendly]] |- | align=center | 2 || 31 March 2026 || [[Stade Bollaert-Delelis]], [[Lens, Pas-de-Calais|Lens]], France || {{fb|PAR}} || align=center| 2–0 || align=center| 2–1 |}
==Honours== '''Morocco''' *[[Africa Cup of Nations]]: [[2025 Africa Cup of Nations|2025]]<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bosher |first=Luke |last2=Joseph |first2=Sam |last3=Harris |first3=Jay |date=2026-03-18 |title=Morocco crowned AFCON winners 57 days after final as Senegal's victory declared void |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7126755/2026/03/17/afcon-morocco-senegal-final-overturned/ |access-date=2026-03-18 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} * [https://www.asroma.com/en/teams/men/neil-el-aynaoui Profile] at the AS Roma website * {{UEFA player}}
{{AS Roma squad}} {{Navboxes |title=Morocco squads | bg = #C1272D | fg = white | bordercolor = #006233 | list1 = {{Morocco squad 2025 Africa Cup of Nations}} {{Morocco squad 2026 FIFA World Cup}} }}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aynaoui, Neil}} [[Category:2001 births]] [[Category:Footballers from Nancy, France]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Moroccan men's footballers]] [[Category:Morocco men's international footballers]] [[Category:Morocco men's youth international footballers]] [[Category:French men's footballers]] [[Category:French sportspeople of Moroccan descent]] [[Category:21st-century Moroccan sportsmen]] [[Category:21st-century French sportsmen]] [[Category:Men's association football midfielders]] [[Category:Ligue 1 players]] [[Category:Ligue 2 players]] [[Category:Championnat National 3 players]] [[Category:Serie A players]] [[Category:AS Nancy Lorraine players]] [[Category:RC Lens players]] [[Category:AS Roma players]] [[Category:2025 Africa Cup of Nations players]] [[Category:2026 FIFA World Cup players]] [[Category:Africa Cup of Nations–winning players]] [[Category:French expatriate men's footballers]] [[Category:French expatriate sportspeople in Italy]] [[Category:Moroccan expatriate men's footballers]] [[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Italy]] [[Category:Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in Italy]]