An in-depth look into our third winter recruit, Nordin Amrabat…
Born to Moroccan parents in Naarden, North Holland, Noureddine Amrabat’s footballing journey began at De Zuidvogels before moving to Dutch giants Ajax. Suffering stunted growth due to Osgood Schlatter disease, the winger was released by Ajax at age 13.
Combining his studies and doing jobs at his school, Amrabat played for SV Huizen for three years before moving to Almere’s Omniworld in 2006. Scoring 15 goals in 37 matches for the Eerste Divisie side, including back-to-back braces in win over TOP Oss and SC Veendam in February 20017, the now 37-year-old joined VVV-Venlo the following summer, who at the time had just been promoted to the Eredivisie.
Netting his first goal for the club in his home debut for the club, a 3-1 win over Excelsior, the winger scored 10 goals and recorded seven assists in 36 matches in total for the club, including braces in both league games against Vitesse. Despite this return, Amrabat could not help VVV-Venlo survive the drop as they were relegated by ADO Den Haag in the play-offs.
His form attracted the interest of then national champions PSV to sign him for a reported fee of €2 million. Scoring once and recording an assist on debut in a 5-1 thrashing of FC Utrecht, a month later saw Amrabat make his UEFA Champions League debut when starting against Atlético Madrid. This would be the first of 18 official Champions League appearances Amrabat would make in his career, as well as featuring four times in qualifying stages of the prestigious competition.
A first season return at PSV of five goals and four assists in 30 outings saw him win the Dutch Super Cup, before netting another five goals in 32 appearances the following campaign. The 2009/10 season saw the Moroccan international net his first goal in a European competition, coming in a 2-0 win over CFR Cluj in the group stages of the UEFA Europa League.
Two goals in 13 outings heading into January 2011 saw Amrabat leave PSV to join Turkish side Kayserispor. Scoring once and recording an assist on debut in a 3-2 win over İstanbul Başakşehir, the winger made an immediate impact when recording a further five assists in 13 outings for the club. His first full season in Türkiye saw a return of six goals and eight assists in 26 outings for Kayserispor, earning a big money move to Galatasaray on a five-year deal on 12 July 2012.
Winning the 2012 Turkish Super Cup on debut for Gala a month after signing, Amrabat’s first start for the club on what was his fifth appearance saw him record two assists and score his first goal in a 4-0 away win over Antalyaspor. A return of 10 assists in 43 appearances in all competitions as Gala also won the Süper Lig title.
Winning the 2013 Turkish Super Cup, Amrabat featured 13 times before making a temporary switch to Málaga on loan in January 2014. Scoring his first for the La Liga club in his sixth outing for the side, a 2-0 win over CA Osasuna in which he set the other goal up, Amrabat ended his loan spell with five assists and two goals in 15 appearances. He also won a medal from the Türkiye Kupassi as Galatasaray won the competition, with the 37-year-old scoring twice in three appearances in the competition that campaign.
Returning to Málaga on loan for the duration of the 2014/15 campaign, a return of six goals and seven assists in 35 appearances saw Amrabat make the move to Spain permanent. Fourteen appearances and one assist later, the winger made a permanent transfer to then Premier League side Watford in January 2016, making his debut five days later in a 2-1 win over Newcastle United.
Finishing the 2015/16 season with 15 appearances for the Hornets, his first full campaign with Watford resulted in three assists in 29 Premier League appearances, recording assists against Bournemouth, Liverpool and Everton. Featuring a further four times for Watford at the start of the 2017/18 season, the Moroccan international returned to Spain on a season-long loan with Leganés.
After recording three goals and three assists in 35 outings for Leganés, the winger left Watford permanently to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr on 16 July 2018. Netting a 96th minute winner on debut, a 2-1 win away at Ohod Club, Amrabat would score five goals and register 11 assists in 30 outings as Al-Nassr won the Saudi Pro League.
His next two seasons in Saudi Arabia would bring back-to-back Saudi Super Cup victories. In total, the 37-year-old played 100 games for Al-Nassr, scoring 17 goals and recording 26 assists, before moving to Greek Super League outfit AEK Athens on 16 August 2021.
Scoring from the penalty spot on debut in a 3-0 victory over Ionikos Nikeas, his first season in Greece ended with six goals and four assist in 31 outings, before winning the league and cup double the following season, contributing eight goals and four assists in 34 appearances.
Winning the league title helped AEK Athens reach the Champions League qualifiers, before the Dikéfalos officially qualified for the UEFA Europa League last season. Amrabat would continue to be a key figure for the club, scoring six and recording eight assists in 39 appearances. This season, the winger has scored two goals and recorded one assist in nine outings prior to his release in January 2025.
Internationally, the winger earned nine caps for Netherlands Under-21s between August 2007 and September 2008, scoring once in a 2-0 win over Portugal. Scoring once and recording two assists in the first of two caps for Holland’s B team, Amrabat switched allegiances to represent Morocco.
Earning the first of 64 caps on 11 November 2011 against Uganda, two days later would see his first goal for his country in a 1-1 draw against Cameroon. Scoring seven goals and recording 10 assists for Morocco, the 37-year-old has featured in three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments (2012, 2013 & 2019) and the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He also played three games in London 2012 Olympics in group fixtures against Honduras, Japan and Spain.
