Karim Hafez

Karim Hafez (Arabic: كريـم حافظ‎; born 12 March 1996) is an Egyptian professional footballer who plays for Turkish Süper Lig club Yeni Malatyaspor and the Egyptian national team as a left-back.

Karim Hafez
Hafez with RC Lens in 2017
Personal information
Full name Karim Hafez Ramadan Seif El Din
Date of birth (1996-03-12) 12 March 1996[1]
Place of birth Beheira, Egypt
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Left back
Club information
Current team
 Yeni Malatyaspor
Number 45
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2018 Lierse 26 (3)
2015–2016 → Omonia (loan) 29 (0)
2016–2017 → Lens (loan) 23 (0)
2017–2018 → Lens (loan) 20 (2)
2018–2020 Wadi Degla 0 (0)
2018–2019 → Başakşehir (loan) 0 (0)
2019 → Kasımpaşa (loan) 26 (0)
2020 → Yeni Malatyaspor (loan) 13 (0)
2020– Yeni Malatyaspor 9 (0)
National team‡
2015– Egypt 7 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 December 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16:58, 26 March 2019 (UTC)

Club career

Hafez made his top flight debut with Belgian club Lierse S.K. on 30 August 2014 against Waasland-Beveren in a 2–0 away defeat.[2] On 20 September 2014, he scored his first league goal against K.V.C. Westerlo in a 6–1 away defeat.[3] Hafez continued to play for Lierse’s senior side and was one of their star performers, scoring three goals in the Jupiler Pro League but could not save his club from relegation. Because of his excellent individual play, he was called up to the Egyptian national team by their Argentine manager Héctor Cúper and made his debut for the Pharaohs in June, coming off the bench in a 2–1 friendly win against Malawi.

Maged Sami, the owner of both Wadi Degla and Lierse, traveled to Athens to negotiate the transfer of Hafez to AEK Athens, and an agreement was expected to be reached over several days in which the 19-year-old Egypt left-back would join the eleven-time Greek champions on loan for a season, with the option to extend the loan for two additional seasons, according to Lierse announcement on their official website. However, the move took a negative turn because of two disagreements. First, Wadi Degla sought the option of first choice if Hafez should be sold because of an offer by another club. Second, they wanted to be paid about €500,000 if AEK were to qualify for the Champions League in the 2016–17 season. The disagreements regarding the transfer were augmented when Lierse announced the transfer on their official website before it was final, which AEK Athens did not take kindly to. The deal collapsed.[4]

Hafez then played for the French club RC Lens on loan from Lierse.

On 29 August 2018, Hafez was loaned by Wadi Degla to the Turkish club İstanbul Başakşehir for the season.[5]

International career

In May 2018 he was named in Egypt’s preliminary squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, but he wasn't selected for the final squad.[6]

References
  1. "Egypt - Karim Hafez - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  2. "Waasland-Beveren vs. Lierse". soccerway.com. 30 August 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  3. "Westerlo vs. Lierse – 20 September 2014 – Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  4. "AEK, Lierse agreement for Karim Hafez's transfer collapses". www.kingfut.com. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  5. "Welcome to Karim Hafez". www.ibfk.com. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  6. "World Cup 2018: All the confirmed squads for this summer's finals in Russia".
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