Neil El Aynaoui

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
Place of birth Nancy, France
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position Central midfielder
Team information
Current team
 [[AS Roma|
Number 8
Youth career
2009–2020 Nancy
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2021 [[AS Nancy-Lorraine 10 (0)
2021–2023 [[AS Nancy-Lorraine 67 (6)
2023 [[RC Lens| 1 (2)
2023–2025 [[RC Lens| 49 (9)
2025– Roma 25 (1)
International career‡
2023 Morocco U23 1 (0)
2025– Morocco 22 (2)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Morocco
Africa Cup of Nations
Winner2025 Morocco
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:52, 24 May 2026 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 9 July 2026

Neil Yoni El Aynaoui (Arabic: نائل العيناوي; born 2 July 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Serie A club Roma. Born in France, he represents the Morocco national team.

Club career

Nancy

El Aynaoui joined the youth academy of Nancy when he was 18, 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 loss to Toulouse on 31 July 2021.[2]

Lens

El Aynaoui playing for Lens in 2023

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

Roma

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

He scored his first goal for Roma in a Europa League match against 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 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. 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]

On 26 May 2026, El Aynaoui was selected in the 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[11]

Personal life

El Aynaoui is the son of the Moroccan retired tennis player Younes El Aynaoui with Anne-Sophie Rocher, a Frenchwoman.[12]

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
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Nancy B 2020–21 National 3 40——40
2021–22 National 3 50——50
2022–23 CFA 334——334
Total 424——424
Nancy 2021–22 Ligue 2 24200—242
Lens B 2023–24 National 3 12——12
Lens 2023–24 Ligue 1 251105[b]0311
2024–25 Ligue 1 2381000248
Total 4892050559
Roma 2025–26 Serie A 251009[c]1342
Career total 140152014115616
  1. ↑ Includes Coupe de France
  2. ↑ Three appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 9 July 2026[13]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Morocco 202590
2026132
Total222
Morocco score listed first, score column indicates score after each El Aynaoui goal.
List of international goals scored by Neil El Aynaoui
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
127 March 2026Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid, Spain Ecuador1–11–1Friendly
231 March 2026Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens, France Paraguay2–02–1Friendly

Honours

Morocco

References

  1. ↑ "Neil El Aynaoui signs his first professional contract with AS Nancy". 3 June 2021. Archived from the original on 1 August 2021.
  2. ↑ "Nancy vs. Toulouse - 31 July 2021". Soccerway.
  3. ↑ "Mercato : Neil El Aynaoui (Nancy) rejoint Lens". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  4. ↑ "Neil El Aynaoui : "C'est incroyable de marquer pour Lens"". OneFootball. 2 November 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  5. ↑ "Neil El Aynaoui is a Roma player". AS Roma. 20 July 2025. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  6. ↑ "Gasperini analyses Bologna win". www.asroma.com. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  7. ↑ UEFA.com. "Roma vs Midtjylland | UEFA Europa League 2025/26". UEFA.com. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  8. ↑ "Neil EL AYNAOUI -".
  9. ↑ "Neil el Aynaoui est devenu officiellement international marocain U23". 8 September 2023.
  10. ↑ "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.
  11. ↑ "Morocco squad brimming with Qatar 2022 heroes". 26 May 2026. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  12. ↑ "Neil El Aynaoui signs three years with AS Nancy". Bergaag. 4 June 2021. Archived from the original on 1 August 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  13. ↑ "Neil El Aynaoui". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
  14. ↑ 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.
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