Born in Zighoud Youcef, Algeria, Mesbah began his playing career in the junior ranks of French club US Annecy-le-Vieux before being spotted by scouts from Swiss side Servette FC in 2001.

[3] He progressed through the ranks at Servette and made his senior debut in the 2003–04 Swiss Super League season, playing in 11 games and scoring 3 goals.

[4] The following day, Milan confirmed the transfer, announcing that Mesbah had signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with the club for an €1.2 million transfer fee[5][6] On 26 January 2012, Mesbah made his debut for Milan, starting in the 2011–12 Coppa Italia quarter-final tie against Lazio.

His goal tied the game 1–1, but proved ineffective as Milan drew in extra time to exit the cup on aggregate 4–3.

He made a total of twelve appearances in all competitions for Milan, including two in the UEFA Champions League, one against Arsenal and the other against Barcelona.

Sampdoria late on 1 September 2014 (swap with Juan Antonio),[9] penning a three-year deal with the Genovese club.

[11] In May 2010, Mesbah was called up for the first time to the Algeria national team by Rabah Saâdane for a two-week training camp in Crans-Montana, Switzerland in preparation for the 2010 World Cup.