# Neil El Aynaoui

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Morocco international footballer (born 2001)

Neil El Aynaoui El Aynaoui with Morocco in 2026 Personal information Full name Neil Yoni El Aynaoui Date of birth (2001-07-02) 2 July 2001 (age 25) 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 25 (1) International career‡ 2023 Morocco U23 1 (0) 2025– Morocco 15 (2) Medal record Men's football Representing Morocco Africa Cup of Nations Winner 2025 Morocco * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:52, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 31 March 2026

**Neil Yoni El Aynaoui** ([Arabic](/source/Arabic_language): نائل العيناوي; born 2 July 2001) is a professional [footballer](/source/Association_football) who plays as a [midfielder](/source/Midfielder) for [Serie A](/source/Serie_A) club [Roma](/source/AS_Roma) and the [Morocco national team](/source/Morocco_national_football_team).

## Club career

### Nancy

El Aynaoui joined the youth academy of [Nancy](/source/AS_Nancy_Lorraine) 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](/source/Ligue_2) loss to [Toulouse](/source/Toulouse_FC) on 31 July 2021.[2]

### Lens

El Aynaoui playing for [Lens](/source/RC_Lens) in 2023

On 29 June 2023, El Aynaoui signed for [Ligue 1](/source/Ligue_1) club [Lens](/source/RC_Lens) on a four-year contract.[3] He scored his first goal on 28 October 2023 against [FC Nantes](/source/FC_Nantes).[4]

### Roma

On 20 July 2025, El Aynaoui moved to [Roma](/source/AS_Roma) in Italy on a five-year contract.[5] He made his debut for the club against [Bologna](/source/Bologna_FC_1909) on matchday 1 of the [Serie A](/source/Serie_A), by coming off the bench in the 60th minute in place of [El Shaarawy](/source/Stephan_El_Shaarawy).[6]

He scored his first goal for Roma in a [Europa League](/source/UEFA_Europa_League) match against [Midtjylland](/source/FC_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](/source/Morocco_national_under-23_football_team) 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](/source/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.[10]

## Personal life

El Aynaoui is the son of the retired Moroccan tennis player [Younes El Aynaoui](/source/Younes_El_Aynaoui).[11]

## Career statistics

### Club

- *As of match played 24 May 2026*

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition 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 25 1 0 0 9[c] 1 34 2 Career total 140 15 2 0 14 1 156 16

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Includes [Coupe de France](/source/Coupe_de_France)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Three appearances in [UEFA Champions League](/source/UEFA_Champions_League), two appearances in [UEFA Europa League](/source/UEFA_Europa_League)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** Appearances in UEFA Europa League

### International

- *As of match played 31 March 2026*[12]

Appearances and goals by national team and year National team Year Apps Goals Morocco 2025 9 0 2026 6 2 Total 15 2

- *Morocco score listed first, score column indicates score after each El Aynaoui goal.*

List of international goals scored by Neil El Aynaoui No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 27 March 2026 Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid, Spain Ecuador 1–1 1–1 Friendly 2 31 March 2026 Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens, France Paraguay 2–0 2–1

## Honours

**Morocco**

- [Africa Cup of Nations](/source/Africa_Cup_of_Nations): [2025](/source/2025_Africa_Cup_of_Nations)[13]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Neil El Aynaoui signs his first professional contract with AS Nancy"](https://web.archive.org/web/20210801185249/https://moroccolatestnews.com/neil-el-aynaoui-signs-his-first-professional-contract-with-as-nancy/). 3 June 2021. Archived from the original on 1 August 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Nancy vs. Toulouse - 31 July 2021"](https://int.soccerway.com/matches/2021/07/31/france/ligue-2/association-sportive-nancy-lorraine/toulouse-fc/3525224/). *Soccerway*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Mercato : Neil El Aynaoui (Nancy) rejoint Lens"](https://www.lequipe.fr/Football/Actualites/Neil-el-aynaoui-nancy-rejoint-lens/1405419). *L'Équipe* (in French). Retrieved 29 June 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Neil El Aynaoui : "C'est incroyable de marquer pour Lens""](https://onefootball.com/en/news/neil-el-aynaoui-cest-incroyable-de-marquer-pour-lens-38467781). *OneFootball*. 2 November 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Neil El Aynaoui is a Roma player"](https://www.asroma.com/en/news/73527/neil-el-aynaoui-is-a-roma-player). AS Roma. 20 July 2025. Retrieved 20 July 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Gasperini analyses Bologna win"](https://www.asroma.com/en/news/73737/gasperini-analyses-bologna-win). *www.asroma.com*. Retrieved 27 August 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** UEFA.com. ["Roma vs Midtjylland | UEFA Europa League 2025/26"](https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/match/2046227--roma-vs-midtjylland/). *UEFA.com*. Retrieved 5 February 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Neil EL AYNAOUI -"](https://www.unfp.org/joueur/neil-el-aynaoui-21822/).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Neil el Aynaoui est devenu officiellement international marocain U23"](https://www.lensois.com/neil-el-aynaoui-est-devenu-officiellement-international-marocain-u23/). 8 September 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Morocco name star-studded AFCON squad as Hakimi makes cut but Diop misses out"](https://www.cafonline.com/afcon2025/news/morocco-name-star-studded-afcon-squad-as-hakimi-makes-cut-but-diop-misses-out/). [Confederation of African Football](/source/Confederation_of_African_Football). 11 December 2025. Retrieved 12 December 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Bergaag_2021_11-0)** ["Neil El Aynaoui signs three years with AS Nancy"](https://web.archive.org/web/20210801185250/https://www.bergaag.com/2021/06/04/neil-el-aynaoui-signs-three-years-with-as-nancy.html). *Bergaag*. 4 June 2021. Archived from the original on 1 August 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** ["Neil El Aynaoui"](https://www.national-football-teams.com/player/100879.html). *National Football Teams*. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 29 December 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** Bosher, Luke; Joseph, Sam; Harris, Jay (18 March 2026). ["Morocco crowned AFCON winners 57 days after final as Senegal's victory declared void"](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7126755/2026/03/17/afcon-morocco-senegal-final-overturned/). *The New York Times*. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0362-4331](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0362-4331). Retrieved 18 March 2026.

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Neil El Aynaoui](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Neil_El_Aynaoui).

- [Profile](https://www.asroma.com/en/teams/men/neil-el-aynaoui) at the AS Roma website

- [Neil El Aynaoui](https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/clubs/players/250187059/) – [UEFA](/source/UEFA) competition record ([archive](https://web.archive.org/web/2020/https://www.uefa.com/teamsandplayers/players/player=250187059/profile/index.html))

v t e AS Roma – current squad 2 Rensch 3 Angeliño 4 Cristante (c) 5 Ndicka 8 El Aynaoui 9 Dovbyk 14 Malen 17 Koné 18 Soulé 22 Hermoso 23 Mancini 24 Ziółkowski 43 Wesley 61 Pisilli 70 De Marzi 78 Vaz 87 Ghilardi 91 Żelezny 95 Gollini 99 Svilar Head coach: Gasperini

Morocco squads v t e Morocco squad – 2025 Africa Cup of Nations winners (2nd title) 1 Bounou 2 Hakimi (c) 3 Mazraoui 4 Amrabat 5 Aguerd 6 Saïss 7 Igamane 8 Ounahi 9 Rahimi 10 Brahim 11 Saibari 12 Munir 13 Ben Seghir 14 Targhalline 15 Chibi 16 Akhomach 17 Ezzalzouli 18 El Yamiq 19 En-Nesyri 20 El Kaabi 21 Talbi 22 Al Harrar 23 El Khannouss 24 El Aynaoui 25 Masina 26 Salah-Eddine 27 Aït Boudlal 28 Belammari Coach: Regragui v t e Morocco squad – 2026 FIFA World Cup 1 Bounou 2 Hakimi (c) 3 Mazraoui 4 Amrabat 5 Saâdane 6 Bouaddi 7 Talbi 8 Ounahi 9 Rahimi 10 Brahim 11 Saibari 12 Munir 13 El Ouahdi 14 Diop 15 El Mourabet 16 Yassine 17 Sbaï 18 Riad 19 Belammari 20 El Kaabi 21 Amaimouni 22 Tagnaouti 23 El Khannouss 24 El Aynaoui 25 Halhal 26 Salah-Eddine Coach: Ouahbi

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Neil El Aynaoui](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_El_Aynaoui) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_El_Aynaoui?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.