Ali Benarbia (Arabic: علي بن عربية; born 8 October 1968) is an Algerian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Benarbia also played in Jean Tigana's talented Monaco side which famously put Manchester United out of the Champions League in 1998 on away goals after a 1–1 draw at Old Trafford.
[3] After three seasons with AS Monaco, Benarbia moved to Bordeaux for £1 million and helped the club, where Zinedine Zidane made his name, to the league title.
With Benarbia playing the best football of his career, Paris Saint-Germain tabled an offer of £2 million for the Algerian player only a month before the end of the season, the club accepted but the deal was kept quiet until Bordeaux had clinched the title.
Benarbia was named captain of the PSG side, which featured Nigerian Jay-Jay Okocha and later Nicolas Anelka.
The team failed to win anything, though they did manage to qualify for the second round of the 2000–01 UEFA Champions League, finishing last in their group with Deportivo de La Coruña, Galatasaray S.K.
During the time of Benarbia's playing career, Algeria struggled with political situations such as the 1986 oil price collapse, Black October and the Algerian Civil War.