Munir El Haddadi

Munir El Haddadi Mohamed (Arabic: منير الحدادي محمد; born 1 September 1995), known simply as Munir, is a professional footballer who plays as a forward or right winger for La Liga club Las Palmas and the Morocco national team.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is El Haddadi and the second or maternal family name is Mohamed.
Munir El Haddadi
Munir with Sevilla in 2020
Personal information
Full name Munir El Haddadi Mohamed[1]
Date of birth (1995-09-01) 1 September 1995
Place of birth El Escorial, Spain
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[2]
Position(s) Forward, right winger
Team information
Current team
 Las Palmas
Number 17
Youth career
2007–2009 Galapagar
2009–2010 Santa Ana
2010–2011 Atlético Madrid
2010–2011 → Rayo Majadahonda (loan)
2011–2014 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2015 Barcelona B 28 (8)
2014–2018 Barcelona 33 (5)
2016–2017 → Valencia (loan) 33 (6)
2017–2018 → Alavés (loan) 33 (10)
2019–2022 Sevilla 77 (16)
2022–2023 Getafe 28 (3)
2023– Las Palmas 5 (0)
International career‡
2014 Spain U19 4 (6)
2014–2016 Spain U21 16 (10)
2014 Spain 1 (0)
2021– Morocco 11 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18 September 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 30 January 2022

Munir began his career in the youth ranks of Atlético Madrid before transferring to Barcelona in 2011,[3] where he won the 2013–14 UEFA Youth League. He made his debut for the B-team in March 2014, and scored in his first match for the senior team in August of that year, at the start of a season in which they won the treble. The following year, he was one of five top scorers in the Copa del Rey, which his team won. He also played in La Liga on loan at Valencia and Alavés, and permanently at Sevilla and Getafe, winning the UEFA Europa League with Sevilla in 2020.

Born in Spain to Moroccan parents, Munir made his full debut for the Spain national team in 2014. In 2021, he chose to represent Morocco at international level, being selected for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

Early life

Munir was born in El Escorial,[4] Madrid, and grew up in nearby Galapagar on a street likened to a "Little Morocco" by El Mundo.[5] His Moroccan father,[4] Mohamed El Haddadi Arbrqui, came to Spain in a fishing boat at age 18 and is now a chef. His mother, Saida Mohamed Haddou, hails from the Spanish autonomous city of Melilla on the north coast of Africa; she is a former kitchen hand who now looks after Munir's three siblings.[5] Up to the age of 14, Munir was a fan of Real Madrid.[5]

Club career

Early career

After starting at Galapagar and DAV Santa Ana, Munir scored 32 goals in 29 matches playing for CF Rayo Majadahonda's Cadete A team, on loan from Atlético Madrid, after impressing during a trial in 2010. However, both Atlético and Real Madrid turned down the opportunity to bring him into their ranks.[6] As a result, he attracted interest from a number of sides such as Manchester City, but signed for Barcelona's youth academy the following summer.[7]

Barcelona

Munir made his UEFA Youth League debut with the Juvenil side against Ajax U19, where he scored two goals.[8] He scored braces against Milan U19 and Copenhagen U19, finishing the tournament scoring 11 goals in 10 matches. He scored a brace in the final against Benfica U19.[9] On 3 March 2014, he extended his Barça contract until June 2017.[10]

After being an unused substitute against Tenerife and Deportivo de La Coruña, Munir made his professional debut for Barcelona B on 2 March 2014 in a 1–2 away win against Mallorca in the second division, coming as a 72nd-minute substitute for Sandro.[11] He scored his first goal as a senior player in a 2–1 home win against Girona on 19 April.[12]

Rafinha, Gerard Piqué and Munir (right) warming up for Barcelona in August 2014 before the fixture against Napoli.

On 24 August 2014, Munir made his official debut for the first team in La Liga, against Elche at Camp Nou. He started the match and scored the second goal of an eventual 3–0 win before being substituted after 67 minutes for Pedro.[13] Eight days short of his 19th birthday, he became Barcelona's third-youngest goalscorer after Bojan and Lionel Messi.[6] Munir was a nominee for the 2014 Golden Boy Award.[14]

On 22 February 2015, Munir was sent off for two bookings in Barcelona B's 0–1 defeat at Llagostera,[15] as the season ended with relegation to Segunda División B.[16] He played three matches apiece in Barcelona's successful runs in the Copa del Rey and UEFA Champions League, but was not included in the matchday squads for either final, becoming The first Moroccan to win the Champions League.

Munir playing for Barcelona in 2014

Munir was an unused substitute for their 5–4 win over Sevilla in the 2015 UEFA Super Cup on 11 August.[17] On 2 December, he scored his first Barcelona goals since his debut, scoring two in a 6–1 win over Villanovense as Barcelona advanced by the same score on aggregate in the domestic cup.[18] On 17 December, starting due to Messi and Neymar's injuries in the semi-finals of the year's FIFA Club World Cup in Yokohama, Munir won a penalty kick when fouled by Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao's Huang Bowen, from which Luis Suárez finished his hat-trick to send Barcelona into the final, 3–0.[19] The South American duo returned for the final, which Barcelona won 3–0 against River Plate with Munir unused.[20]

On 13 January 2016, profiting from Suárez's suspension, Munir scored both goals in a cup win at city rivals Espanyol, putting Barcelona into the quarter-finals 6–1 on aggregate.[21] He was unused for the final, a 2–0 extra-time win over Sevilla on 22 May, but with five goals was one of as many players to finish as the tournament's top scorer, among them Messi and Suárez.[22]

On 14 August 2016, Munir came on as a substitute in the 76th-minute and scored to double Barcelona's lead over Sevilla in the 2016 Supercopa de España first leg to give Barcelona a lead of two goals in the second leg.[23]

Loan to Valencia

On 30 August 2016, Munir moved to fellow La Liga club Valencia on a season-long loan.[24] He was handed the number 9 previously worn by Paco Alcácer, who had moved in the opposite direction.[25] Munir made his debut on 11 September, replacing Santi Mina after 63 minutes of a home game against Real Betis, and his rebounded header was scored by Ezequiel Garay in a 2–3 defeat.[26] On 22 October, he scored his first goal for Los Che, coming on at half-time for Martín Montoya and equalising at the Mestalla against his parent club in a loss by the same score.[27]

Loan to Alavés

On 1 September 2017, Munir joined Deportivo Alavés on a season-long loan deal.[28] He made his debut nine days later in a 1–0 loss at Celta de Vigo, replacing Enzo for the final 33 minutes.[29] On 30 September he scored his first goal for the Basques, opening a 2–1 win at UD Levante.[30] In the reverse fixture the following 1 March, he was sent off for diving in a 1–0 win at the Mendizorrotza Stadium.[31]

Sevilla

Munir was offered the chance to renew his contract with Barcelona before its expiration in the summer, but refused to do so. Barcelona assured him that he would not play for the club again and has been favored to be sold by Coach Ernesto Valverde, saying "it would be for the best". Several clubs from England and Italy were interested in the forward, but, in January 2019, Sevilla was able to claim him for a fee of around €1 million. The transfer was able to be completed before the transfer windows closed in January, rather than during the summer.[32][33]

On 13 January, Munir made his Sevilla debut in a 2–0 loss at Athletic Bilbao, replacing Roque Mesa for the final 12 minutes.[34] He scored his first goals in March, one in each leg of a Europa League last-16 tie against SK Slavia Prague, who nonetheless won 6–5 on aggregate,[35] and finished the league season with five goals in 16 games including in a 2–0 win against Athletic on the final day to qualify for the continental tournament again.[36]

Munir scored a hat-trick on 7 November 2019 in a 5–2 Europa League group win at F91 Dudelange, which put his team through to the last 32 and bought his tally in the competition to five.[37]

On 24 November 2020, Munir scored his first Champions League goal in a 2–1 away win over Krasnodar in the 2020–21 season, that goal came in the stoppage time to grant his team a place in the knockout stages.[38]

Getafe

On 31 August 2022, Munir moved to fellow top tier side Getafe.[39]

Las Palmas

On 30 July 2023, recently-promoted to La Liga side Las Palmas announced the free signing of Munir on a one-year contract.[40] He made his debut on 12 August 2023, coming on in the 64th minute against Mallorca.

International career

Spain

Munir was born and raised in Spain, the son of a Moroccan father, and was eligible to represent either nation internationally. It was rumoured Qatar had offered Munir a financial deal to take that country's nationality and represent the nation, which was set to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[5]

On 29 August 2014, Munir was called up for the first time as one of 21 players for Albert Celades' Spain under-21 team to face Hungary and Austria in September.[41] However, after an injury to Diego Costa, Vicente del Bosque called Munir up to the senior squad for the first time ahead of a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier against Macedonia on 8 September.[42] He made his debut in that match, replacing Koke for the final 13 minutes of a 5–1 victory at the Estadi Ciutat de València.[43] He said after the match he never considered playing for Morocco.[44]

Request to change teams

In June 2017, it was reported Munir and the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) had contacted FIFA to change his allegiance to Morocco. However, a FIFA spokesman denied any contact and said the player was ineligible for a switch.[45] On Munir and the FRMF's request, the Court of Arbitration for Sport began debating FIFA's rules on switching allegiances in April 2018.[46] His appeal to represent Morocco was denied on 14 May.[47]

On 1 October 2020, following a rule change by FIFA that allowed a player to change their national team provided they had made three or fewer appearances in qualifiers before the age of 21, Munir once again attempted to switch from Spain to Morocco and was called up to their national team.[48] Nevertheless, this switch was also rejected by FIFA, on the grounds that Munir had played for the Spain U21 team in September 2016, after turning 21.[49] On 28 January 2021, FIFA published the eligibility requirements for national teams, and Munir received the green light to represent Morocco, as he played once for Spain before he turned 21.[50]

Morocco

Munir made his debut for Morocco on 26 March 2021, playing the full 90 minutes as the team drew 0–0 away to neighbouring Mauritania to qualify for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.[51] Four days later at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, he scored the only goal of the game against Burundi.[52]

Munir was called up for the final tournament, held in January 2022 in Cameroon. After two substitute appearances, he started in the quarter-finals, a 2–1 extra-time loss to Egypt.[53]

Style of play

As a child, Munir idolised Messi and Moroccan international Adel Taarabt.[54] A report from FourFourTwo magazine noted his composure on the ball, tricks, speed and highlighted his finishing ability and set-pieces; his ability with his weaker right foot was criticised.[54]

After his goalscoring debut, Barcelona manager Luis Enrique praised Munir as a player whose effort in training matches that on the pitch, but warned against getting carried away with his performance.[54]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 18 August 2023[55]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Copa del Rey Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Barcelona B 2013–14 Segunda División 114———114
2014–15 Segunda División 174———174
Total 288———288
Barcelona 2014–15 La Liga 101303[lower-alpha 1]0—161
2015–16 La Liga 153554[lower-alpha 1]02[lower-alpha 2]0268
2016–17 La Liga 1000002[lower-alpha 3]131
2018–19 La Liga 71212[lower-alpha 1]000112
Total 33510690415612
Valencia (loan) 2016–17 La Liga 33631——367
Alavés (loan) 2017–18 La Liga 331044——3714
Sevilla 2018–19 La Liga 165103[lower-alpha 4]200207
2019–20 La Liga 215209[lower-alpha 4]5—3210
2020–21 La Liga 244606[lower-alpha 1]100365
2021–22 La Liga 162207[lower-alpha 5]1—253
Total 77161102590011325
Getafe 2022–23 La Liga 28334——317
Las Palmas 2023–24 La Liga 2000——20
Career total 2344831153494130472
  1. All appearances in UEFA Champions League
  2. One appearance in Supercopa de España, one appearance in FIFA Club World Cup
  3. All appearances in Supercopa de España
  4. All appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, three appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League

International
As of match played 30 January 2022[56]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Spain 201410
Total10
Morocco 202182
202230
Total112
Career total 12 2
Scores and results list Morocco's goal tally first.[56]
List of international goals scored by Munir
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
130 March 2021Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, Morocco Burundi1–01–02021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
26 October 2021 Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, Morocco Guinea-Bissau5–05–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours
Munir (second from right) wearing his UEFA Super Cup medal, 2015

Barcelona Youth

Barcelona[55]

Sevilla

Individual

See also

References
  1. "Acta del Partido celebrado el 24 de noviembre de 2018, en Madrid" [Minutes of the Match held on 24 November 2018, in Madrid] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  2. "Munir El Haddadi". Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  3. "Barcelona sign 15year child future star". Ahram. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  4. "El Haddadi promise excites Barcelona". UEFA. 17 April 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  5. Mucha, Martín (31 August 2014). "El padre de Munir, la esperanza musulmana del Barça: 'Llegué en patera'" [The father of Munir, Barça's Muslim hope: 'I arrived in a small boat']. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  6. "Munir tripping the light fantastic". FIFA. 9 September 2014. Archived from the original on 12 September 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  7. "Five facts about Arsenal linked Munir El Haddadi". Hereisthecity. Archived from the original on 3 March 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  8. "Barcelona 4 Ajax 1". UEFA. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  9. "Munir El Habbadi". UEFA. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  10. "Munir El Haddadi extended his contract with Barcelona". Starafrica. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  11. "RCD Mallorca vs Barcelona B". Soccerway. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  12. "Barcelona B vs Girona FC". Marca. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  13. Cryer, Andy (24 August 2014). "Barcelona 3–0 Elche". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  14. Richards, Alex (28 October 2014). "England pair Raheem Sterling and Calum Chambers join Adnan Januzaj in Golden Boy award nominations". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  15. "El Llagostera hunde al Barça B, con el viento como protagonista" [Llagostera sink Barça B, with the wind as the protagonist] (in Spanish). Marca. 22 February 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  16. Güell, Robert (31 May 2015). "FC Barcelona B fall to Leganés, and down to the Second Division B, 5–2". FC Barcelona. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  17. "Barcelona 5–4 Sevilla". BBC Sport. 11 August 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  18. "Night for Barcelona youth as Sandro Ramirez and Munir El Haddadi star – in pictures". The National. 3 December 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  19. "Barcelona 3–0 Guangzhou Evergrande". 17 December 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  20. Begley, Emlyn (20 December 2015). "River Plate 0–3 Barcelona". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  21. "Espanyol 0–2 Barcelona". BBC Sport. 13 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  22. "Guidetti acaba como pichichi de la Copa del Rey" [Guidetti finishes as Copa del Rey Pichichi] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. 23 May 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
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  28. "Munir, calidad y goles para el ataque alavesista" [Munir, quality and goals for the alavesista attack] (in Spanish). Deportivo Alavés. 1 September 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  29. "Gracias a 'Maxi Gol'" [Thanks to 'Maxi Goal']. Marca (in Spanish). 10 September 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  30. "El efecto De Biasi asalta Orriols y saca los colores al Levante" [The De Biasi effect assaults Orriols and embarrasses Levante]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 30 September 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  31. "El epic fail que protagonizó Munir tras su expulsión frente al Levante". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 2 March 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  32. Marsden, Sam (11 January 2019). "Sevilla sign Barcelona striker Munir El Haddadi at cut-price fee". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  33. "Barcelona and Sevilla agree €1m Munir transfer". Goal. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  34. Herrán, Alfonso (13 January 2019). "Williams desencadenado" [Williams unchained] (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  35. "Slavia Prague 4–3 Sevilla". BBC Sport. 14 March 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  36. "Valencia clinch Champions League spot, Getafe in Europa League". Reuters. 18 May 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  37. "Munir and Dabbur seal Sevilla's place in Europa League knockout rounds". Marca. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  38. "Krasnodar 1–2 Sevilla". UEFA. 24 November 2020.
  39. "COMUNICADO OFICIAL | Munir" [OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT | Munir] (in Spanish). Getafe CF. 31 August 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  40. "Munir El Haddadi nuevo jugador de la UD Las Palmas" [Munir El Haddadi new player of UD Las Palmas]. www.udlaspalmas.es (in Spanish). 30 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  41. "OFFICIAL: Call up list for the matches against Hungary and Austria". RFEF. 29 August 2014. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  42. "Costa ruled out of Spain squad, Munir is replacement". Goal.com. 5 September 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  43. "Morocco lose appeal to recruit Spain's Munir". ESPN.com. 14 May 2018.
  44. Corrigan, Dermot (8 September 2014). "Spain forward Munir El-Haddadi never considered playing for Morocco". ESPN FC. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  45. "FIFA denies clearing Munir El Haddadi to change allegiance to Morocco". ESPN. 22 June 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  46. "Munir El Haddadi: Barcelona forward challenges Fifa ruling on eligibility". BBC Sport. 10 April 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  47. "Munir: CAS rejects attempt to play for Morocco at World Cup". Diario AS. 14 May 2018. Archived from the original on 19 July 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  48. "Munir El Haddadi and Morocco take advantage of Fifa rule change". BBC Sport. 1 October 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  49. Dunbar, Graham (8 October 2020). "FIFA rejects El Haddadi bid to switch to Morocco from Spain". Associated Press. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  50. "Munir El-Haddadi peut enfin jouer avec le Maroc" [Munir El Haddadi can finally play for Morocco]. Be Soccer (in French). 28 January 2021.
  51. Lantheaume, Romain (26 March 2021). "CAN 2021 : le Maroc, un qualifié sans panache en Mauritanie" [2021 AFCON: Morocco, qualified without flair in Mauritania] (in French). Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  52. Fréjus, HV (30 March 2021). "Elim. Can 2021 : Premier but victorieux de Munir El Haddadi" [2021 Afcon qual: First winning goal for Munir El Haddadi] (in French). Africa Foot United. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  53. "Salah inspires Egypt to place in Cup of Nations semi-finals". World Soccer Talk. 30 January 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  54. Yu, Cronan (31 August 2014). "What you need to know about Barca's Munir El Haddad". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  55. Munir El Haddadi at Soccerway
  56. "Munir El Haddadi". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  57. "First Youth League title goes Barcelona's way". UEFA.com. 14 April 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  58. "Copa del Rey Top Scorer: 2015–16". World Football. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
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