Ayyoub Bouaddi
CDMCM
Morocco19 years
Showing2026/27 seasonAll official competitions
Preferred Positions
Last 24 months · all competitions
CDM
Defensive midfieldMain
4,433 min · 71 apps · 51 starts
CM
Central midfield
904 min · 11 apps · 11 starts
Squad importance
Current squad importance over the club’s last 40 recorded competitive games in this spell, including previous seasons. Starts and minutes contribute 70%; performance contributes 30%. Absences reduce the score gradually, with less weight when a player is outside the matchday squad.Current role at Manchester City · independent of the season filter
Backup
Involvement36%
Performance46%
Through the match on 4 Nov 2026. Refreshed daily.
Profile
Career & playing style
Ayyoub Bouaddi is a central midfielder who helps move possession forward while also winning the ball back. Developed at Lille, he combines a passer’s role with the movement of a midfielder who can support attacks and recover defensively.
Born in Senlis, he began playing at Creil before joining Lille’s academy in 2021. He progressed from the under-17s into under-19 football and signed his first professional contract in August 2023. That route put him against older opponents before his introduction to senior European competition.
His first-team debut came as a starter away to KÍ Klaksvík on 5 October 2023, in a goalless Conference League match. Lille subsequently trusted him with further European starts. Those games gave his early development a continental dimension alongside his first appearances in Ligue 1.
Against Sturm Graz in March 2024, he showed how he could contribute beyond circulating possession. He ran into space beyond a defensive line to receive Tiago Santos’s pass, then immediately cut the ball back for Jonathan David to score. He also made a recovery run, a defensive intervention and a clean pass out. The sequence illustrates the link between his attacking movement and defensive effort.
On 2 October 2024, his seventeenth birthday, Bouaddi started Lille’s 1–0 Champions League win over Real Madrid. Another landmark followed in November, when UEFA named him Player of the Match in the 1–1 draw with Juventus.
After representing France at youth and under-21 level, he played for Morocco at the 2026 World Cup. He started the opening 1–1 draw with Brazil, operating at the base of midfield and helping direct possession. Morocco’s run ended in the quarter-finals against France, giving his international breakthrough a substantial tournament setting.
Bouaddi moved from Lille to Manchester City in August 2026. City’s director of football Hugo Viana highlighted his calmness and ability on the ball when explaining his suitability for a deeper midfield role. That assessment connected the move to qualities already visible in his development at Lille.
Latest stats & form
Match coverage through 4 November 2026 · club and country