Born in Ede, Netherlands and raised there,[1] El Hassnaoui began playing youth football for local side De Graafschap.
[4] Five days after signing a contract, El Hassanaoui scored his first De Graadschap (the reserve) goal, in a 1–0 win over Cambuur in the second round of KNVB Cup.
[6] After making his return to the first team against Telsar on 8 February 2010, El Hassnaoui scored his first De Graadschap league goal, in a 3–2 loss against Emmen four days later.
The 2010–11 season saw El Hassnaoui make four appearances for the club before suffering a knee injury, which he sustained a match against Jong FC Groningen and was out for six to eight months.
[19] After making his first team return, El Hassnaoui later scored five goals against Roda JC,[20] Twente,[21] Heracles,[22] Excelsior[23] and ADO Den Haag.
[34][35] El Hassnaoui made his Sparta Rotterdam debut on 3 August 2013, in the opening game of the season, in a 2–2 draw against Jong PSV.
[42] Though recovered from a groin injury,[43] El Hassnaoui did not make his debut until on 13 September 2014 against Dumbarton, where he came on as a substitute for James Keatings in the 64th minute.
[47] Though recovered from an ankle injury, El Hassnaoui remained on the substitute bench until he made his return to the first team, coming on as substitute for Jamie Walker in the second half and then provided assist for Osman Sow, in a 10–0 win over Cowdenbeath[48] Later in the 2014–15 season, El Hassnaoui later scored two more goals against Alloa Athletic[49] and Raith Rovers.
[53] El Hassnaoui played for the Morocco national under-23 football team in the qualifying rounds of the 2011 CAF U-23 Championship[54] and was called up to the squad for the 2012 Summer Olympics.