Medhi Benatia

Medhi Amine El Mouttaqi Benatia[note 1] (Arabic: المهدي أمين المتقي بن عطية; French pronunciation: [mɛdi bɛnatia]; born 17 April 1987) is a former professional footballer who played as a centre-back, who is currently the sporting director of Ligue 1 club Marseille.

After helping the side finish as Serie A runners-up in his only campaign there, Benatia was signed by Bayern Munich for €26 million, winning the Bundesliga in both of his seasons at the club.

[7] On 13 July 2013, Benatia signed for Roma on a five-year contract in a €13.5 million transfer,[8] with Nico López and Valerio Verre going the other way on co-ownership as part of the same deal.

[17] On 17 September 2014, Benatia made his official debut for Bayern in a 1–0 home win against Manchester City, for the opening match of the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League season, where he played for 85 minutes, completing 93% of his passes.

[20] He started the 2015–16 season in the German Super Cup, which Bayern lost in a penalty shootout after a 1–1 draw at VfL Wolfsburg.

[21] On 14 August, he headed Xabi Alonso's free kick for the first goal of the new Bundesliga season in a 5–0 thrashing of Hamburger SV.

[31] After making only five Serie A appearances during the first half of the 2018–19 season,[32] in January 2019, it was reported that Benatia had completed a move to Qatar Stars League club Al-Duhail.

[37] Benatia made his international debut for Morocco on 19 November 2008 in a 3–0 friendly win over Zambia at the Stade Mohammed V in Casablanca.

[38] He scored his first goal for them on 4 June 2011, opening a 4–0 win over rivals Algeria at the Stade de Marrakech, in qualification for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.

[40][41] Benatia was Morocco's captain at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon and played every minute until the 1–0 elimination by Egypt in the quarter-finals.

[42] On 11 November, he scored in a 2–0 win away to the Ivory Coast that qualified the Atlas Lions to the 2018 FIFA World Cup, their first such tournament for 20 years.

Benatia playing for Bayern Munich in 2014
Benatia with Juventus in the 2018–19 preseason
Benatia playing against Algeria in June 2011
Benatia ( fifth from left ) in Juventus' 2016–17 double-winning squad