Published on 6/16/2026
|
Last update: 13:50 (Mecca time)
The young Moroccan talent, Ayoub Bouadi, gave an outstanding performance in the midfield position in the Moroccan national football team’s first match in the 2026 World Cup finals on Sunday against Brazil.
In the match that ended in a 1-1 draw, Bouadi, the star of the French team Lille, received widespread praise, as he, along with Azzedine Ouanahi and Nael El Ainaoui, was able to control the pace of play in the middle of the field, which showed the Atlas Lions in a way that makes Morocco one of the teams expected to go far in the current World Cup, after a historic achievement in the Qatar 2022 edition that culminated in the arrival of Achraf Hakimi’s friends to the semi-finals.
Read also
list of 2 itemsend of list
Mohamed Abu Trika, the former Egyptian national team star and beIN Sports channel analyst, praised the distinguished performance provided by the Moroccan national team against Brazil, and said of Bouadi, “Ayoub in particular is very excellent. He did not send any wrong pass, and he is available to all players on the field.”
Technical performance
Regarding the technical performance in the Morocco-Brazil match, press reports from Reuters and the Guardian and Mirror newspapers stated that Bouadi:
- He touched the ball more than any of his teammates, with 86 touches.
- He presented a strong performance with a passing accuracy of 93%.
- Bouadi became the second youngest player – at 18 years and 254 days – to complete more than 50 correct passes in a World Cup match in the past 60 years.
Bouadi is one of the most prominent emerging talents in the French League, after he imposed himself as a key player in the Lille squad in recent seasons, and played more than 90 matches with the team in various competitions over three seasons.
Bouadi – who chose to play for Morocco instead of France – participated in 30 matches with Lille last season and helped the team qualify for the Champions League. He is also the youngest player to participate in a continental club match at the age of 16 years and three days.
The market value of the player
Because performance on the field is reflected in the player’s value, especially in major football events, expectations indicate that Bouadi’s market value may rise to above 60 to 70 million euros (about 69.4 to 81 million dollars) after the World Cup if he continues to provide outstanding performance in the remaining matches, given his young age and his contract with his team Lille until 2029.
Bouadi has become under the radar of a number of major European clubs, led by Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain, and Bayern Munich.
Lille is not in a rush to sell his precious jewel, and is demanding fees that exceed its current market value, while there is talk of a transfer fee that may not be less than 70 million euros (about 81 million dollars) at the present time, and the fee for the value of his transfer may have reached 70 million British pounds (about 94 million dollars), according to what the Guardian reported, but this is linked to the player’s success in proving himself during his participation with the Moroccan national team in the World Cup in America, Mexico and Canada.
Transfer Market data updated this June indicates:
- The market value of the player Bouadi reached 50 million euros (about 58 million dollars) after it did not exceed 28 million euros (about 32.4 million dollars) a year ago and less than 6 million euros (about 7 million dollars) two years ago.
- Bouadi is considered the second-highest player in terms of global market value at the age of 18, after Lamine Yamal (200 million euros, about 231.4 million dollars).
- Bouadi is considered the fifth most expensive player in terms of market value among all players born in 2007 globally.
- Bouadi is ranked 12th on the list of the most valuable players in the global midfield position, but he remains the highest in this position among players born in 2007.
- My promise is considered the most valuable among all the players of the French club Lille.
- He is also ranked second with the highest value among all Moroccan national team players after Achraf Hakimi (80 million euros, about 92.6 million dollars).
The strongest Arab at his age
Historical data from Transfermarkt indicates that many Arab and African stars did not reach the value of 50 million euros at the age of 18, other than the player Ayoub Bouadi:
- Achraf Hakimi reached 50 million euros at the age of 21.
- Riyad Mahrez reached this value at the age of 27 years.
- Mohamed Salah reached a value of 50 million euros at the age of 25.
- As for Victor Osimhen, he reached a value of 50 million euros at the age of 22 years.
For its part, the Football Observatory of the International Center for Sports Studies in Switzerland determined the value of the player Bouadi in the transfer market at 55 million euros (about 63.7 million dollars) in a report issued shortly before the start of the World Cup, while it had expected in a report published in December 2025 that the value of the Moroccan national team star would reach 58.8 million euros (about 68 million dollars).
The Observatory placed Bouadi on the list of the most valuable players in the Moroccan national team, and on the list of strongly emerging talents.
It is noteworthy that there are differences between the evaluation of the Transfer Market website and the Football Observatory, as the first monitors the current market value of the player based on technical criteria related to his current readiness and pivotal role in the team, while the second monitors the expected value of the player based on financial criteria related to the investment return if the player is sold before the end of his contract.
The Observatory focuses on young talents, taking into account age, the duration of his current contract, whether the player constitutes a long-term investment for his current club, and the volume of demand by clubs that wish to benefit from his services.
