Omar Rekik

Omar Rekik
Personal information
Date of birth (2001-12-20) 20 December 2001
Place of birth Helmond, Netherlands
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Maribor
Number 44
Youth career
–2012 Feyenoord
2012–2014 Manchester City
2014–2015 PSV
2015–2017 Marseille
2017–2021 Hertha BSC
2021–2022 Arsenal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020–2021 Hertha BSC II 8 (1)
2021–2024 Arsenal 0 (0)
2022–2023 → Sparta Rotterdam (loan) 6 (0)
2022 → Jong Sparta (loan) 1 (0)
2023 → Wigan Athletic (loan) 11 (0)
2023–2024 → Wigan Athletic (loan) 10 (0)
2024 → Servette (loan) 0 (0)
2025– Maribor 45 (2)
International career‡
2018 Tunisia U21 1 (0)
2018–2019 Netherlands U18 3 (1)
2021– Tunisia 8 (1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 9 August 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 21 June 2026

Omar Rekik (Arabic: عمر رقيق; born 20 December 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Slovenian PrvaLiga club Maribor.[2] Born in the Netherlands, he represents the Tunisia national team.

Early life

Born in Helmond, Netherlands[3] to a Tunisian father and a Dutch mother,[4][5] Rekik was part of several big European clubs during his youth career, following his brother Karim from Feyenoord to Manchester City, then PSV and Marseille, before joining Hertha Berlin in 2017.[3][6] However, their careers eventually split during the 2020–21 season, as Omar was transferred from the Bundesliga side to Arsenal in January 2021,[7][6][8] while Karim joined Spanish side Sevilla a few months earlier.[5][6]

Club career

Ahead of the 2022–23 season, Arsenal sent Rekik on loan to Dutch club Sparta Rotterdam,[9] where he stayed until January 2023, before joining EFL Championship side Wigan Athletic for the remainder of the season.[10] After making eleven league appearances,[11] his loan with the Latics was extended for another half-season until January 2024.[12]

On 2 February 2024, Rekik moved on a new loan to Servette in Switzerland, with an option to buy.[13]

On 2 January 2025, Rekik joined Slovenian PrvaLiga club Maribor.[14]

International career

While his brother Karim was already capped for the senior Netherlands national team, Omar was first selected in the Tunisia under-21 selection in October 2018, aged just 16,[3] before joining the Netherlands under-18 a month later.[15]

Rekik eventually decided to join the Tunisia national team in May 2021, as he was selected by Mondher Kebaier along with other young players such as Hannibal Mejbri.[4][16] He made his international senior debut on 15 June 2021, starting as a midfielder in a 1–0 friendly win against Mali.[17][18]

On 14 June 2026, Rekik scored his first senior international goal at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the team's opener against Sweden.[19]

Career statistics

Club

As of 22 January 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Hertha BSC II 2020–21 Regionalliga Nordost 81————81
Arsenal 2020–21 Premier League 000000—0000
2021–22 Premier League 000000——00
2022–23 Premier League 000000——00
Total 000000—0000
Arsenal U23 2021–22 ————2[a]020
Sparta Rotterdam (loan) 2022–23 Eredivisie 6000———60
Wigan Athletic (loan) 2022–23 Championship 110————110
Wigan Athletic (loan) 2023–24 League One 1002000—2[a]0140
Servette 2023–24 Swiss Super League 0000———00
Career total 35120000040411
  1. 1 2 Appearances in EFL Trophy

International

As of match played 20 June 2026[20]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Tunisia 202110
202220
202651
Total81
Scores and results list Tunisia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Rekik goal.
List of international goals scored by Omar Rekik
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 14 June 2026 Estadio BBVA, Guadelupe, Mexico 7  Sweden 1–2 1–5 2026 FIFA World Cup

References

  1. ↑ "Omar Rekik – NK Maribor" (in Slovenian). NK Maribor. Archived from the original on 3 January 2025. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  2. ↑ Omar Rekik at Soccerway
  3. 1 2 3 "Omar Rekik: talento tunisino classe 2001". World Football Scouting (in Italian). 18 October 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  4. 1 2 Jerbi, Rania (27 May 2021). "Equipe nationale –Tunisie: Omar Rekik officiellement " Aigle de Carthage "". Africa Foot United (in French). Archived from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  5. 1 2 Jerbi, Rania (31 May 2021). "Tunisie: Karim Rekik sur les traces de son frère Omar ?". Africa Foot United (in French). Archived from the original on 23 June 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 Rault, Mathieu (19 November 2020). "Arsenal veut l'ancien Marseillais Omar Rekik". Foot Mercato (in French). Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  7. ↑ "Omar Rekik signs professional contract". Arsenal F.C. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  8. ↑ "Arsenal sign Omar Rekik". BeSoccer. 7 January 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  9. ↑ "Sparta huurt Omar Rekik van Arsenal". Sparta Rotterdam (in Dutch). 20 June 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  10. ↑ "Wigan Athletic sign Arsenal defender Omar Rekik on loan". Wigan Athletic FC. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  11. ↑ "Omar Rekik » Statistics: Club Matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  12. ↑ "Wigan Athletic bring in Martial Godo and Arsenal defender Omar Rekik on loan". BBC Sport. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  13. ↑ "Omar Rekik rejoint les Grenat" [Omar Rekik joins The Garnets]. Servette FC (in French). 2 February 2024. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  14. ↑ "Omar Rekik nova moč v obrambi". NK Maribor (in Slovenian). 2 January 2025. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  15. ↑ Elfrink, Rik (15 November 2018). "KNVB maakt werk van Omar Rekik, die bij Oranje onder 18 in de basis staat". Eindhovens Dagblad.
  16. ↑ "Cérémonie de présentation des deux néo-internationaux, Hannibal Mejbri et Omar Rekik". Mosaïque FM (in French). 30 May 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  17. ↑ "Amical: Formation rentrante de la Tunisie face au Mali". kawarji.com. 15 June 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  18. ↑ "Amical, Tunisie –Mali : La victoire et c'est tout pour les Aigles de Carthage | Africa Foot United". africafootunited.com (in French). 15 June 2021. Archived from the original on 1 August 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  19. ↑ "Sweden smash five past Tunisia in World Cup opener". Reuters. 15 June 2026. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  20. ↑ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Omar Rekik (Player)". national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.