He signed his first contract with Nancy, where he spent his first season as a youth player before joining the senior squad in his second year with the club.

[4] After playing five seasons for Nancy, Hadji joined Sporting Lisbon and then Deportivo la Coruña, but it was with Coventry City where he became well known, especially in Britain, after he was signed by Gordon Strachan in 1999.

At Coventry, he was joined by Moroccan international, Youssef Chippo, sparking a brief trend for City fans to wear fezzes to games in their honour.

[citation needed] After Coventry were relegated in 2001, he joined local rivals Aston Villa, having scored against them three times in the previous season.

But after only playing sporadically, scoring in the league against Southampton[6] and Everton[7] and once in the UEFA Cup against Varteks,[8] he was released on a free transfer to Espanyol in Spain where he remained until June 2004.

[10] At the request of the coach Horst Ehrmantraut, Hadji made a midfield pairing with another Moroccan international, Faysal El Idrissi.

Hadji scored to give his team the lead, but was sent off in the 85th minute and was suspended for three cup matches by the German Football Association.

He is also involved in a partnership with plans to invest in Morocco, thus providing opportunities for the local people, to help rid poverty from his homeland.