Mukhtar Ali

Mukhtar Abdullahi Ali (Arabic: مختار علي‎; born 30 October 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Al-Nassr and the Saudi Arabia national football team. He was born in Jeddah and moved to London as an infant.[1]

Not to be confused with Muktar Ali.

Mukhtar Ali
Personal information
Full name Mukhtar Abdullahi Ali
Date of birth (1997-10-30) 30 October 1997
Place of birth Jeddah, Saudi Arabia[1]
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Al-Nassr
Number 21
Youth career
0000–2008 Leyton Orient
2008–2017 Chelsea
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017 Chelsea 0 (0)
2017 → Vitesse (loan) 6 (0)
2017 → Jong Vitesse (loan) 4 (0)
2017–2019 Vitesse 9 (1)
2019– Al-Nassr 24 (0)
National team‡
2012 England U16 2 (0)
2013–2014 England U17 4 (0)
2017– Saudi Arabia U23 2 (0)
2017– Saudi Arabia 4 (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 17 November 2020

Club career

Chelsea

In 2008, Ali joined Chelsea at under-11 level from Leyton Orient and progressed through the club's academy system.[2] He was part of the Chelsea youth side which recorded back to back triumphs in the FA Youth Cup in 2015 and 2016.[2] With 42 appearances in all competitions he was the second-leading appearance maker in the academy and was also nominated for International Somali Sportsman of the Year.[2]

Vitesse

On 29 January 2017, Ali joined Vitesse on loan for the remainder of the 2016–17 campaign.[3] On 19 February 2017, Ali made his Vitesse debut in their 1–0 home defeat against Ajax, replacing Marvelous Nakamba in the 84th minute.[4] On 4 February 2017, he played his first match for Jong Vitesse against SV Spakenburg.[5] Ali went onto appear in five more league games during his loan spell.

On 17 July 2017, Vitesse permanently signed Ali on a three-year deal.[6]

Al-Nassr

On 31 August 2019, Al-Nassr signed Mukhtar Ali on a one-year deal from Vitesse.[7]

International career

Being of Somali origin,[8] Ali represented England at both under-16 and under-17 level, however, pledged his allegiance towards the Saudi Arabia national team,[9] and made his senior debut on 7 October 2017 against Jamaica. This was possible based on the player's assertion that he was instead born in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.[10]

Career statistics
As of match played 8 February 2020.[11]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Vitesse (loan) 2016–17 Eredivisie 6000——60
Vitesse 2017–18 Eredivisie 30001[lower-alpha 1]02[lower-alpha 2]060
2018–19 Eredivisie 611000—71
Al Nassr 2019–20 Saudi Professional League 801000—90
Career total 231201020281
  1. Appearance in the Europa League
  2. Appearance in the Eredivisie European play-offs

Honours

Club

Chelsea Reserves[2]

Vitesse

Al Nassr FC

References
  1. Meenaghan, Gary (2018-04-06). Mukhtar Ali ‘fit and ready’ for Saudi Arabia if World Cup call comes. Arab News. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  2. "Mukhtar Ali". TheChels.info. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  3. "Academy midfielder loan". Chelsea Official Site. 29 January 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  4. "Vitesse vs. Ajax". Soccerway. 19 February 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  5. "SPAKENBURG VS. VITESSE II 2 - 2". Soccerway. 4 February 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  6. "Ali joins Vitesse". Chelsea Official Site. 17 July 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  7. Al-Nassr is officially signed by Mukhtar Ali
  8. "Mukhtar Ali" (in Dutch). Vitesse Official Site. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  9. Vitesse. "Vitesse nieuws: Vitesse-spelers internationaal actief". Vitesse.nl.
  10. "Mukhtar Ali 'fit and ready' for Saudi Arabia if World Cup call comes". Arab News. 6 April 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  11. Mukhtar Ali at Soccerway
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.