The Most Famous

SOCCER PLAYERS from Morocco

This page contains a list of the greatest Moroccan Soccer Players. The pantheon dataset contains 21,273 Soccer Players, 102 of which were born in Morocco. This makes Morocco the birth place of the 44th most number of Soccer Players behind Saudi Arabia, and Costa Rica.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Moroccan Soccer Players of all time. This list of famous Moroccan Soccer Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Moroccan Soccer Players.

1. Just Fontaine (1933 - 2023)

With an HPI of 74.56, Just Fontaine is the most famous Moroccan Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 57 different languages on wikipedia.

Just Louis Fontaine (18 August 1933 – 28 February 2023) was a French professional footballer who played as a striker. He scored the most goals ever in a single edition of the FIFA World Cup, with thirteen in six matches in the 1958 tournament. In March 2004, Pelé named him one of his 125 Greatest Living Footballers at a FIFA Awards Ceremony.

2. Larbi Benbarek (1914 - 1992)

With an HPI of 65.15, Larbi Benbarek is the 2nd most famous Moroccan Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Larbi Benbarek (Arabic: العربي بن مبارك; Tamazight: Lɛarbi ben-Bárək), also Ben Barek or Ben M'barek (16 June 1917 – 16 September 1992), was a Moroccan football player, who represented the France national team 17 times. He earned the sobriquet of the "Black Pearl" due to his technique and elegance on the ball, and is considered one of the greatest football players of all time, one of the first great African footballers, and the greatest French footballer prior to Raymond Kopa. Speaking on the Moroccan player, Pelé declared: "If I am the king of football, Ben Barek is the god of football." In a career interrupted by the Second World War, Benbarek became the first French footballer of international renown, as well as the first French footballer whose transfer to a foreign side, namely his move to Atlético Madrid in 1948, was the subject of high-level negotiations. He also represented the arrival of North African players to French football, and was one of the first players sought out by a French side from beyond the borders of Metropolitan France when he was signed by Marseille in 1938. Despite not possessing a French passport, Benbarek led the French national team in the immediate post-war period, earning 17 caps over a span of nearly 16 years, which represented the longest international career by time span at the time, albeit that he only ever appeared in friendly matches for Les Bleus.

3. Ahmed Faras (1946 - 2025)

With an HPI of 63.73, Ahmed Faras is the 3rd most famous Moroccan Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Ahmed Faras (Arabic: أَحْمَد فَرَس; 7 December 1946 – 16 July 2025) was a Moroccan professional footballer who played as a striker for Chabab Mohammédia at club level and Morocco internationally. Faras was named African Footballer of the Year in 1975. In 2006, Faras was selected by CAF as one of the best 200 African football players of the last 50 years. With 36 international goals, he is Morocco's all time top goalscorer.

4. Ezzaki Badou (b. 1959)

With an HPI of 57.95, Ezzaki Badou is the 4th most famous Moroccan Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Ezzaki Badou (Arabic: الزاكي بادو; born 2 April 1959), nicknamed Zaki, is a Moroccan football coach and former professional player who played as a goalkeeper. He manages the Niger national team. In his football career, he is considered RCD Mallorca legend and one of the best goalkeepers Africa has produced.

5. Mustapha Hadji (b. 1971)

With an HPI of 57.85, Mustapha Hadji is the 5th most famous Moroccan Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 37 different languages.

Mustapha Hadji (Arabic: مصطفى حجي; born 16 November 1971) is a Moroccan football coach and former player. He was named the 50th greatest African player of all time by the African football expert Ed Dove.

6. Noureddine Naybet (b. 1970)

With an HPI of 57.56, Noureddine Naybet is the 6th most famous Moroccan Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Noureddine Naybet (Arabic: نور الدين نيبت; born 10 February 1970) is a Moroccan former professional footballer who played as a central defender. He played in Spain for Deportivo de La Coruña and in Portugal for Sporting CP, as well as in France for FC Nantes and in England for Tottenham Hotspur. He is considered one of the best defenders in La Liga of his generation. Naybet spent the longest and most successful period of his career with Deportivo La Coruña in Spain's La Liga, from 1996 to 2004. He was named the 44th greatest African player of all time by the African football expert Ed Dove. Naybet played a record 115 matches for the Morocco national team scoring four goals, representing the country in two World Cups and six Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.

7. Abdelmajid Dolmy (1953 - 2017)

With an HPI of 56.69, Abdelmajid Dolmy is the 7th most famous Moroccan Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Abdelmajid Dolmy (Arabic: عبد المجيد الظلمي; 20 August 1953 – 27 July 2017) was a Moroccan professional footballer who played as a libero then as a central midfielder for Raja CA and the Moroccan national team. Nicknamed Maestro, he is widely considered one of the best players in the history of Moroccan and African football. He started playing football in Derb sultan and joined the Raja-Oasis Complex in 1969 aged 16. Two years later, he joined the first team where he made a few appearances before establishing himself as a key player in 1973. He won the Throne Cup in 1974, 1977 and 1982, and came close to winning Botola many times. In 1987, Olympique de Casablanca signed him for a then Moroccan record transfer fee. In 1990, he returned to Raja and retired the next year at the age of 38. With the Atlas Lions, he made his debut with the U20 national team in 1971. In 1973, he was called up to the senior team for a friendly match against Senegal, but did not play. On 23 February 1975, he made his debut under Gheorghe Mărdărescu against Libya in the qualifiers for the 1976 Summer Olympics. He played all games in the 1976 African Cup of Nations won by Morocco. He also won the gold medal at the 1983 Mediterranean Games. He played in three more AFCON and in the 1984 Summer Olympics. At the 1986 World Cup, he was a key player of the first African team to finish top of a World Cup group and the first African team to reach the knockout stages, before being eliminated by West Germany after a last-minute goal. He was one of the best Moroccan players of the tournament and was rated 9/10 by L'Équipe against England. He retired from international football after the 1988 AFCON. In 1992, UNESCO awarded him the Fair play prize, to reward a “player whose exemplary morality and courtesy make him unanimously considered by his partners or adversaries as a football ambassador”. In 2006, Dolmy was selected by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as one of the best 200 African football players of the last 50 years. In 2022, he's part of the IFFHS all-time Morocco Dream Team.

8. Mohammed Hazzaz (1945 - 2018)

With an HPI of 56.55, Mohammed Hazzaz is the 8th most famous Moroccan Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Mohamed Hamid Hazzaz (Arabic: حميد الهزاز; 30 November 1945 – 13 January 2018), also known as Hamid El-Hazzaz, was a Moroccan football goalkeeper. Hazzaz spent his entire career playing for Maghreb de Fès.

9. Houmane Jarir (1944 - 2018)

With an HPI of 56.46, Houmane Jarir is the 9th most famous Moroccan Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Mohammed Houmane Jarir (30 November 1944 – 19 May 2018) was a Moroccan footballer who played as a forward. He played for the Moroccan national team in the 1970 FIFA World Cup, scoring in their opening match against West Germany. He spent his club career with Raja CA Casablanca before a knee injury ended it.

10. Abdallah Lamrani (1946 - 2019)

With an HPI of 56.21, Abdallah Lamrani is the 10th most famous Moroccan Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Abdallah Lamrani (1946 – 14 April 2019) was a Moroccan footballer who played as a defender. At club level, he played for FAR Rabat. He also played for the Morocco at international level, representing his country at the 1970 FIFA World Cup. Lamrani was a sergeant of the Moroccan Army.

People

Pantheon has 106 people classified as Moroccan soccer players born between 1914 and 2003. Of these 106, 90 (84.91%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Moroccan soccer players include Ezzaki Badou, Mustapha Hadji, and Noureddine Naybet. The most famous deceased Moroccan soccer players include Just Fontaine, Larbi Benbarek, and Ahmed Faras. As of April 2024, 8 new Moroccan soccer players have been added to Pantheon including Soufiane Rahimi, Jawad El Yamiq, and Abdel Abqar.