Mehdi Bourabia

Mehdi Bourabia (born 7 August 1991) is a Moroccan professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Sassuolo in the Serie A.

Mehdi Bourabia
FC Salzburg versus Konyaspor in 2017
Personal information
Full name Mehdi Bourabia[1]
Date of birth (1991-08-07) 7 August 1991[1]
Place of birth Dijon, France
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Sassuolo
Number 68
Youth career
Dijon FCO
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2010 Grenoble B 28 (3)
2009–2011 Grenoble 11 (1)
2013–2014 Lille B 18 (2)
2015 Lokomotiv Plovdiv 11 (1)
2015 Cherno More 19 (3)
2016–2017 Levski Sofia 40 (2)
2017–2018 Konyaspor 30 (1)
2018– Sassuolo 40 (2)
National team‡
2018– Morocco 8 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 07:01, 22 June 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 October 2018

Beginnings and club career

Bourabia was born and raised in Dijon, Côte-d'Or, to Moroccan parents from Beni Mellal.[1] He started his career in the club of his neighborhood at 6 years old. He joined the Dijon FCO at 9 years old. Then, he joined the youth center of FC Sochaux-Montbéliard for 2 years between 2005 and 2007. He returned to finish his formation in Dijon until he was 18, before joining Grenoble Foot 38 for 2 seasons between 2009 and 2011.

He made his professional debut for Grenoble Foot 38 at 18 years old and 3 months on 7 November 2009, in a Ligue 1 game against Monaco. He played only 2 games in the 2009-10 season, before being relegated to Ligue 2 for the 2010-11 season, a season in which he played 10 games by scoring a goal under the orders of Mehmed Baždarević, until he has been free of any contract in 2011.

He remained without playing for two years between 2011 and 2013, during which he fought against a tenacious pubalgia, before Rudi Garcia, the coach of LOSC Lille, passed by the bench of Dijon FCO between 2002 and 2007, allowed him to start his re-athletics with the LOSC Lille. Bourabia played 18 games with the under-23s, and scored 3 goals during the 2013-2014 season.

Bulgarian Championship

Out of contract, he signed in February 2015 for half a season for Lokomotiv Plovdiv in the Bulgarian championship, playing 15 games and scoring 2 goals. He was spotted by Cherno Varna, another Bulgarian club, who signed him in July 2016 on a 2 season contract.[2]. He played his first European games there, as the club had qualified for the Europa League. On August 12, 2016, he scored the only goal of the match against Ludogorets Razgrad in the Bulgarian super cup final and won his first major trophy Ludogorets Razgrad in the Bulgarian Supercup.[3]. After strong displays in the league, scoring 4 goals in 22 games, several Bulgarian and Turkish clubs showed an interest during the winter transfer window. He was transferred to Levski Sofia for 100,000 €, signing a 3 year deal.[4]. He became an integral part of the selection during his 18 months at the club, playing 42 games and scoring 3 goals.

Turkish League

On 22 June 2017, he is bought from Turkish club Konyaspor on a 3 years deal for a fee around 500 000 € .[5] The player is revealed in Turkey by achieving his best club performances since the beginning of his career, scoring 2 goals and delivering 3 assists in 39 games. His value is increased with his performances in the Europa League group stage (6 games played).

Serie A

On 17 July 2018, Bourabia signed a 3 years deal with Sassuolo for a fee around €2.5 million.[6] Under the orders of Roberto De Zerbi, he took on another dimension by playing 34 games and became a major player on the team to the point of attracting the attention of major European teams. On May 12, 2019 he scored his first Serie A goal against Torino.

International career

Bourabia was born in France and is of Moroccan descent.[7] He debuted for the Morocco national football team in a 2–2 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification draw against Comoros on 16 October 2018.[8]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 21 June 2020
ClubSeasonLeagueCupContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
FranceLeagueCoupe de FranceEuropeOther[lower-alpha 1]Total
Grenoble B 2009–10 National 2 283–––283
Total 283000000283
Grenoble 2009–10 Ligue 1 2000––20
2010–11 Ligue 2 9100–10101
Total 111000010121
Lille B 2013–14 National 2 182–––182
Total 182000000182
BulgariaLeagueBulgarian CupEuropeOther[lower-alpha 2]Total
Lokomotiv Plovdiv 2014–15 First League 11141––152
Total 111410000152
Cherno More 2015–16 First League 193002011224
Total 193002011224
Levski Sofia 2015–16 First League 10000––100
2016–17 3022000–322
Total 402200000422
TurkeyLeagueTurkish CupEuropeOther[lower-alpha 3]Total
Konyaspor 2017–18 Süper Lig 301206110392
Total 301206110392
ItalyLeagueCoppa ItaliaEuropeOtherTotal
Sassuolo 2018–19 Serie A 32120––341
2019–20 8121––102
Total 402410000443
Career statistics19715122813121819
  1. Includes Coupe de la Ligue matches.
  2. Includes Bulgarian Supercup matches.
  3. Includes Turkish Super Cup matches.

Honours

Cherno More

Konyaspor

  • Turkish Supercup: 2017

References
  1. "Mehdi̇ Bourabia". Turkish Football Federation. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  2. "Мехди Бурабия с първа тренировка за "моряците"" (in Bulgarian). chernomorepfc.bg. 15 June 2015.
  3. "Cherno More Surprisingly Claims Bulgaria's Football Supercup". novinite.com. 13 August 2015.
  4. "Мехди Бурабия подписа с Левски за 3 години" (in Bulgarian). levski.bg. 11 January 2016.
  5. "ЛЕВСКИ продаде Бурабия на Коняспор" (in Bulgarian). levski.bg. 22 June 2017.
  6. "Bourabia signed with Sassuolo". Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  7. Youssef. "Mehdi Bourabia vers la Turquie". lionsdelatlas.ma.
  8. "Marocco-Isole Comore 1-0: panchina per Bourabia - Sassuolonews.net". 14 October 2018. Archived from the original on 22 October 2018. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
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