Ahmad Benali (Arabic: أحمد بن علي; born 7 February 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Italian Serie B club Bari.
Benali started his career in the youth team of Manchester City since joining the club at eight,[1] and signed his first professional contract on his 17th birthday.
On 31 August 2011, Benali was loaned out to League One club Rochdale, along with his former teammate David Ball, until 1 January 2012.
[4] Benali then made his league debut eleven days later on 15 October 2011, where he provided assist for Gary Jones, in a 2–2 draw against Colchester United.
[7] After leaving Manchester City, Benali played abroad for the first time when he moved to Italy to join the Serie B club Brescia in the summer of 2012.
[8] Benali made his Brescia Calcio debut, where he played 77 minutes, in a 2–1 loss against Cremonese in the second round of Coppa Italia.
[29] Benali had attracted interests from Inter Milan,[30] Sampdoria,[31] Sassuolo,[32] Chievo,[33] Celtic[34] and Everton.
[35] In the summer of 2015, after three seasons playing for Brescia, he moved to the Serie A club Palermo on a free transfer signing a four-year contract.
[36] However, Benali struggled to make a break into the Palermo's first team and was expected to be loaned out by Manager Maurizio Zamparini.
[39] Benali made his Pescara debut in the opening game of the season, making his first start, in a 4–0 loss against Livorno.
On 26 January 2022, he joined Pisa on loan until the end of the 2021–22 season, with an option and a conditional obligation to buy.
In addition, Benali can be used as a technical midfielder, who athleticism can help the important contribution in defence despite his lack of height at 173cm.