[4] His father, Abdellatif, was a former goalkeeper for Raja Casablanca and Hassania Agadir who signed for Racing Mechelen but was unable to play as his former Moroccan club refused to release his paperwork.

[8] He is known for his heading ability and stamina, which made him one of the best box-to-box midfielders in the Belgian First Division and resulted in him winning the Ebony Shoe in 2008,[9] an award given to the best player of the season of African descent.

After rejecting the advances of Manchester United[10] and following reported interest from Aston Villa,[11] Real Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich,[12] Fellaini signed for Everton in September 2008 on a five-year deal from Standard Liège for an initial transfer fee of £15 million (at the time a record for a Belgian player and club record for Everton).

[13][14] He made his Everton debut in a 3–2 away victory at Stoke City on 14 September 2008,[15] and scored his first goal for the team against Newcastle United in a 2–2 home draw on 5 October 2008.

During his debut season he was booked 10 times in his first 17 games and avoided a lengthy suspension by attending a personal hearing with England's chief referee, Keith Hackett, where he vowed to improve his behaviour.

His performances in late 2009 and early 2010 became so impressive that David Moyes labelled him "as good as anyone in the league", and he re-iterated this after Fellaini won Man of the Match against Manchester City on 16 January.

[19][20] Fellaini was stretchered off in the 34th minute of the Merseyside derby on 6 February after a two-footed tackle by Sotirios Kyrgiakos, ruling him out for the rest of the 2009–10 season.

[24] In the opening game of the 2012–13 Premier League season against Manchester United, Fellaini received plaudits for his outstanding performance, as he scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory.

[27][28] On 2 September 2013, Fellaini signed a four-year contract, with the option of extension of another season, reuniting with former manager David Moyes at Manchester United in a £27.5 million, deadline day deal,[29] despite the fact that he had a lower buyout clause earlier in the transfer window.

[31] On 5 November, Fellaini received his first red card for Manchester United in a match against Real Sociedad in the group stage of the Champions League.

[35] On 20 October 2014, he scored his first competitive goal for Manchester United in a 2–2 draw in the Premier League against West Bromwich Albion two minutes after coming on as a half time substitute.

During second half stoppage time, he contributed to United's goal when his header was saved by Thibaut Courtois and ultimately rebounded in by Robin van Persie.

[42] On 24 May, Fellaini was sent off in Manchester United's final Premier League fixture of the season, a 0–0 draw with Hull City at the KC Stadium, 18 minutes after appearing as a substitute.

[57] Fellaini made 19 appearances for Manchester United in the first half of the 2018–19 season, scoring 90th-minute goals against both Derby County in the EFL Cup and Young Boys in the UEFA Champions League.

However, after the dismissal of head coach José Mourinho, Fellaini found opportunities limited and he played in just two of nine possible matches under caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær, both as a substitute.

At the end of January 2019, Fellaini agreed a contract with Chinese club Shandong Luneng and was officially transferred on 1 February 2019, concluding his five-and-a-half year spell with Manchester United.

[66] On 17 June, in Belgium's opening match against Algeria, Fellaini came on as a second-half substitute and scored the Red Devils' equalising goal in a 2–1 win.

[67] He was then named in the starting line-up for the second match against Russia on 22 June[68] and went on to play every minute of les Diables Rouges' run to the quarter-finals, where they were defeated 1–0 by Argentina in Brasília.

[73] At the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, Fellaini scored the equalising goal after Japan had gone 2–0 up in a round of 16 match that saw Belgium win 3–2.

[81] Fellaini was known for his tackling and work-rate, despite his lack of pace; he was also known for his eye for goal from midfield and ability to get forward, and was able to shoot and pass well with either foot, despite often favouring simple solutions when in possession.

[82] Due to his height and physique, he was known in particular for his ability in the air and penchant for scoring headers,[77] which led manager Louis van Gaal to deploy him as a deep-lying target man, or even as a striker up-front, in a 4–3–3 formation on occasion during their time together at Manchester United, which suited the team's long ball tactics.