Saïd_Benrahma

Saïd Benrahma

Saïd Benrahma

Algerian footballer (born 1995)

Mohamed Saïd Benrahma (Arabic: محمد سعيد بن رحمة; born 10 August 1995) is an Algerian professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Ligue 1 club Lyon, on loan from Premier League club West Ham United, and the Algeria national team.

Quick Facts Personal information, Full name ...

Benrahma began his professional career with Nice, later spending time on loan with Angers, Gazélec Ajaccio and Châteauroux during his early career. He came to prominence in the EFL Championship after a move to Brentford in 2018, scoring 27 goals in 83 appearances for the West London outfit before moving to the Premier League with West Ham on a permanent basis following a loan spell in 2021.

Club career

Nice

A winger, Benrahma began his youth career with Algerian club NRB Bethioua,[3] before moving to France and joining Balma, Colomiers and then Ligue 1 club Nice in 2013.[4] He made his professional debut under manager Claude Puel during the 2013–14 season,[5][6] but played most of his football for the club with the reserve team, for whom he made 37 appearances and scored 11 goals between 2013 and 2016.[7] Benrahma scored one goal in his three first team appearances during the 2014–15 season and scored a further two in 2015–16.[8][9]

Ankle injuries and the arrival of manager Lucien Favre led to Benrahma spending a large portion of his latter career with the club away on loan, at Ligue 1 club Angers and Ligue 2 clubs Gazélec Ajaccio and Châteauroux.[5] Benrahma departed the Stade de Nice in July 2018,[10] having made 18 appearances and scored three goals during his time with the club.[7]

Brentford

On 6 July 2018, Benrahma moved to England to join Championship club Brentford on a four-year contract, with the option of a further year, for an undisclosed fee,[11] reported to be £2.7 million.[5] He scored his first goal for the club on his third appearance, in a 4–2 EFL Cup first round victory over Southend United on 14 August 2018.[12] Six weeks later, Benrahma was sent off for the first time in his Bees career after committing two bookable offences during a 2–2 draw with Reading on 29 September.[12] After returning from injury in December,[13] Benrahma broke into the starting lineup and came into form in mid-January 2019, scoring nine goals in 14 league matches.[14] He was nominated for the January and February PFA Fans' Player of the Month awards and one of his three goals in a 5–1 win over Hull City was chosen as the Championship Goal of the Month for February and as Brentford's Goal of the Season.[15][16][17][18] An ankle injury suffered in early April 2019 ended Benrahma's season,[19] by which time he had made 45 appearances and scored 11 goals.[12]

Benrahma missed Brentford's entire 2019–20 pre-season match programme and returned to competitive play in mid-August 2019,[20] before breaking back into the starting lineup late in the month.[7] During a 2019–20 season in which his performances led to him being voted the Brentford Supporters' Player of the Year and named in the Championship PFA Team of the Year,[21][22] Benrahma made 46 appearances and scored 17 goals, which included two hat-tricks.[23] His performances during Brentford's run to the 2020 Championship play-off final saw him win the January 2020 PFA Fans' Player of the Month and the July 2020 Championship Player of the Month awards.[24][25][26] In addition, he was nominated for the 2020 London Football Awards EFL Player of the Year award and the 2019–20 PFA Fans' Championship Player of the Year award.[27][28]

After a second consecutive pre-season of transfer speculation,[29][30] Benrahma was left out of head coach Thomas Frank's matchday squads early in the 2020–21 regular season,[7] before making his first appearance of the season as a substitute for Sergi Canós after 73 minutes of a 1–1 draw with Millwall on 26 September 2020.[31] He started the following match versus West London rivals Fulham in the EFL Cup and his performance and second goal in the 3–0 fourth round victory was recognised with the man of the match and Goal of the Round awards respectively.[32][33]

West Ham United

On 16 October 2020, Benrahma joined Premier League club West Ham United on an initial season-long loan deal, with an agreement to make the transfer permanent.[34] On 31 October, he came off the bench and made his debut in a 2–1 loss against Liverpool in a league fixture.[35] He was named in the starting 11 for the first time in a 2–1 win over Leeds United on 11 December.[36][37]

On 29 January 2021, the loan deal was terminated early as West Ham signed Benrahma on a permanent contract in order to free up a domestic loan space for the incoming Jesse Lingard.[38] The club agreed to pay £25 million plus £5 million in add-ons. The transfer fee made Benrahma West Ham’s third most expensive player behind Sébastien Haller and Felipe Anderson.[39][40] On 15 May 2021, Benrahma scored his first goal for West Ham in a 1–1 away league draw against Brighton & Hove Albion.[41]

On 6 November 2022, he scored a goal in a 2–1 defeat against Crystal Palace which was measured as the most powerful Premier League goal of the season, with an average speed of 107.17 kilometres per hour (66.59 mph).[42] On 7 June 2023, during the 2023 UEFA Europa Conference League final, Benrahma scored West Ham’s opening goal, a penalty, in the 62nd minute, against Fiorentina. West Ham won their first trophy in 43 years with a 2–1 victory.[43]

On 1 February 2024, West Ham agreed terms to transfer Benrahma to Ligue 1 club, Lyon. The move initially fell through just before the closing of the transfer window as West Ham failed to transfer the necessary papers to the Premier League leading to Lyon accusing West Ham of "demonstrating a profound lack of respect on the part of West Ham towards the institution and the player."[44] However, after an appeal from Lyon that FIFA accepted, the deal went through and was officially announced the next day.[45]

Lyon

On 2 February 2024, Benrahma joined Lyon on loan until the end of the season. The club paid £5.1 million for the loan, with a purchase option of £12.3 million and a 10% interest in the capital gain in the event of a potential future transfer.[46]

International career

In September 2015, Benrahma was called up to the Algeria national team for friendly matches against Guinea and Senegal.[47] He made his debut in the match versus Senegal on 13 October 2015, when he came on as a substitute for Baghdad Bounedjah after 70 minutes of the 1–0 victory.[48] One month later, Benrahma was called into the squad for two 2018 World Cup second round qualifiers versus Tanzania, but did not make an appearance.[7] Benrahma's club form at Brentford during the 2018–19 season was recognised with a call-up for two 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. He won his second international cap with a start in a 1–0 win over Tunisia on 26 March 2019.[48] He was named in Algeria's preliminary squad for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, but was forced to withdraw due to injury.[49]

Benrahma scored his first international goal in a 4–0 away win against Djibouti on 12 November 2021 in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.[50] He was named in Algeria’s squad for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.[51]

Personal life

Benrahma was born in Aïn Témouchent and grew up in Sidi Bel Abbès.[5] He moved to Toulouse, France with his parents at the age of 11 and holds French nationality.[5] Benrahma's father died in January 2020 and he publicly dedicated each of his subsequent five goals to him.[52][53]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 14 April 2024
More information Club, Season ...
  1. Includes Coupe de France, FA Cup
  2. Includes Coupe de la Ligue, EFL Cup
  3. Appearances in Championship play-offs
  4. Part of this season was spent on loan from Brentford
  5. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  6. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  7. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 26 March 2024[48]
More information National team, Year ...
Scores and results list Algeria'a goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Benrahma goal.[48]
More information No., Date ...

Honours

West Ham United

Individual

References

  1. [1]
    "Notification of shirt numbers: Brentford" (PDF). English Football League. p. 12. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  2. [2]
    "Saïd Benrahma – Forward – First Team". Brentford. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  3. [3]
    "Benrahma : "Apprendre auprès de grands joueurs"" (in French). DZFoot. 6 October 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  4. [4]
    "La Fiche de Saïd Benrahma – Football algerien". www.dzfoot.com. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  5. [5]
    Fisher, Ben (25 June 2020). "'He could nutmeg a mermaid': the rise of Brentford's Saïd Benrahma". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  6. [6]
    "Games played by Saïd Benrahma in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  7. [7]
    Saïd Benrahma at Soccerway. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  8. [8]
    "Games played by Saïd Benrahma in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  9. [9]
    "Games played by Saïd Benrahma in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  10. [10]
    "Benrahma transféré à Brentford". OGC Nice (in French). Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  11. [11]
    "Said Benrahma joins Brentford from OGC Nice". Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  12. [12]
    "Games played by Saïd Benrahma in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  13. [13]
    Vickers, Anthony (24 November 2018). "Fine margins and injuries have cost Brentford dearly". The Gazette. Middlesbrough. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  14. [14]
    "Said Benrahma Player Profile". ESPN FC. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  15. [15]
    "Benrahma and Henry nominated for PFA Player of the Month". Brentford F.C. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  16. [16]
    "Benrahma and Watkins POTM nominees". Brentford F.C. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  17. [17]
    "Saïd Benrahma wins Sky Bet Championship Goal of the Month award". Brentford F.C. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  18. [18]
    "Maupay takes the honours at Player of the Year Dinner". Brentford F.C. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  19. [19]
    "Algeria forward Said Benrahma ruled out of Afcon with injury". Goal.com. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  20. [20]
    Thomas, Lyall (29 July 2019). "Frank: Bees stars will be ready". West London Sport. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  21. [21]
    "Ollie Watkins and Said Benrahma share prizes at Virtual Awards Event". Brentford F.C. 23 August 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  22. [22]
    "De Bruyne named PFA Player of the Year". BBC Sport. 8 September 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  23. [23]
    "Games played by Saïd Benrahma in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  24. [24]
    "Brentford 1 Fulham 2". Brentford F.C. 4 August 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  25. [25]
    "Said Benrahma wins PFA Bristol Street Motors Player of the Month". Brentford F.C. 5 February 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  26. [26]
    "Sublime Said secures July Player of the Month prize". Brentford F.C. 31 July 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  27. [27]
    "Bees up for London Football Awards prizes". Brentford F.C. 9 February 2020. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  28. [28]
    "PFA Player of the Month Awards". Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  29. [29]
    Preece, Ashley (11 September 2020). "Brentford boss issues Aston Villa transfer demand for Benrahma". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  30. [30]
    Taylor, Julian (19 September 2020). "Delighted Frank wants Brentford 'fortress'". West London Sport. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  31. [31]
    "Games played by Saïd Benrahma in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  32. [32]
    "Fans can't stop talking about Said Benrahma being given an unusual award". Fan Banter. 4 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  33. [33]
    "Saïd wins Goal of the Round prize". Brentford F.C. 7 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  34. [34]
    "West Ham United seal Saïd Benrahma loan deal". West Ham United F.C. 16 October 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  35. [35]
    Inkersole, Sam (2 November 2020). "Said Benrahma reacts to West Ham debut in loss at Liverpool". Football.London. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  36. [36]
    "Team news: Benrahma makes full debut at Leeds | West Ham United". www.whufc.com. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  37. [37]
    "Moyes says VAR making 'terrible decisions' after West Ham beat Leeds". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  38. [38]
    "Saïd Benrahma completes permanent West Ham United transfer". West Ham United F.C. 29 January 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  39. [39]
    "Benrahma deal paves way for Lingard loan" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  40. [40]
    Clark, Tom (27 January 2021). "West Ham to make Said Benrahma transfer permanent to free up space for Lingard". Football.London.
  41. [41]
    Sutcliffe, Steve (15 May 2021). "Brighton & Hove Albion 1-1 West Ham United: Hammers top-four hopes suffer blow". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  42. [42]
    "Benrahma wins Oracle Most Powerful Goal award". Premier League. 30 May 2023.
  43. [43]
    "Jarrod Bowen strikes at the last to earn Conference League glory for West Ham". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  44. [44]
    "Lyon blame West Ham as Benrahma move collapses". BBC Sport. 1 February 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  45. [45]
    "Computer says no – but Lyon claim FIFA says yes to Said Benrahma move". beIN SPORTS. 2 February 2024.
  46. [46]
    "Benhrama join OL on loan until the end of the season". OL. 2 February 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  47. [47]
    "EN : Liste des sélectionnés pour la Guinée et le Sénégal" (in French). DZfoot. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  48. [48]
    "Saïd Benrahma". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  49. [49]
    "Saïd Benrahma named in Algeria selection". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  50. [50]
    "Djibouti v Algeria". FIFA. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  51. [51]
    "The full list of Premier League players set to miss fixtures due to Afcon". inews.co.uk. 2 January 2022.
  52. [52]
    ""I was pleased to be able to pay tribute to him because he was so proud of me and happy for me"". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  53. [53]
    "Brentford FC | 11 February 2020 – Leeds United – Home". officialbfcpics.co.uk. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
  54. [54]
    "Games played by Saïd Benrahma in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  55. [55]
    "Games played by Saïd Benrahma in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  56. [56]
    "Games played by Saïd Benrahma in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  57. [57]
    Stone, Simon (7 June 2023). "Fiorentina 1–2 West Ham United: Jarrod Bowen goal decides Europa Conference League final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  58. [58]
    "Benrahma wins Oracle Most Powerful Goal award". Premier League. 30 May 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saïd Benrahma.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Saïd_Benrahma, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.