Nabil Fekir made his first-team debut for Olympique Lyonnais on 28 August 2013 at Anoeta. He came on at half-time for Yassine Benzia in the second leg of a Champions League play-off against Real Sociedad, which Lyon lost 2-0. Three days later he played his first Ligue 1 match, starting and finishing a 2-1 defeat away to Évian. Born in Lyon on 18 July 1993, he is a left-footed attacking midfielder who holds French and Algerian nationality. He played for Lyon, Real Betis and Al Jazira, and won the 2018 World Cup with France.
Growing up around Lyon
He came through the clubs of the Lyon suburbs. He joined the Olympique Lyonnais academy at the age of 12, but the club let him go two seasons later. He went back to local football, first with FC Vaulx-en-Velin and then with AS Saint-Priest. Lyon brought him back for their reserve side in 2011, and in July 2013 he was promoted to the first-team squad.
Olympique Lyonnais (2013-2019)
His first competitive goal came on 27 April 2014 in a 4-1 home win over Bastia. In 2014-15 he scored 15 goals and provided 13 assists in all competitions, won the UNFP Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year award and was named in the league’s Team of the Year. On 4 September 2015, playing for France in a friendly against Portugal in Lisbon, he ruptured the cruciate ligament in his right knee after 14 minutes. He was out for around seven months and missed most of the 2015-16 season.
He contributed 14 goals and 12 assists in 2016-17. In August 2017, after Maxime Gonalons left for AS Roma, he was handed the captain’s armband. That season was the most prolific of his career, with 23 goals, and he made the Ligue 1 Team of the Year again. In June 2018 Liverpool negotiated a deal worth up to €60 million; Fekir underwent a medical, but the transfer was not completed. He stayed in Lyon and on 19 September 2018 scored his first Champions League goal in a 2-1 win away to Manchester City. He left the club with 69 goals in just over 190 appearances.
Real Betis (2019-2024)
In July 2019 he joined Real Betis for a fee of around €20 million plus add-ons. His first goal for the club came on 25 August 2019 in a 5-2 defeat to FC Barcelona at the Camp Nou. He scored twice in the 2021-22 Copa del Rey, including the equaliser in the Seville derby in January 2022, and on 23 April 2022 Betis beat Valencia in the final at La Cartuja, 1-1 after extra time and 5-4 on penalties. The 2022 Copa del Rey was the first club trophy of his career, and he was named in the La Liga Team of the Season that year.
On 24 February 2023, away to Elche, he ruptured a cruciate ligament again, this time in his left knee, and did not play again until November 2023. In January 2024, after Andrés Guardado’s departure, he became club captain, and in April 2024 he shared the La Liga Player of the Month award with Isco. He left Seville in August 2024 after 165 appearances and 29 goals for Betis.
France national team
In March 2015 he was named in an Algeria squad for two friendlies, but he withdrew and accepted a call-up from France instead. He made his debut on 26 March 2015 at the Stade de France, replacing Antoine Griezmann in a 3-1 defeat to Brazil. He scored his first international goal against Belgium on 7 June 2015 and his second on 28 May 2018 in a 2-0 win over the Republic of Ireland.
Didier Deschamps took him to the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Fekir made six appearances, all as a substitute, including the closing minutes of the final in Moscow on 15 July, when France beat Croatia 4-2 to become world champions. He was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour that year. Between 2015 and 2020 he won 25 senior caps and scored 2 goals.
Playing style
Short and left-footed, with a low centre of gravity, he is at his best behind the striker or cutting inside from the right. He shields the ball with his body, dribbles in tight spaces and looks for the final pass or a shot from the edge of the box. At Lyon he put up a goalscorer’s numbers; at Betis he played deeper, setting up the attack.
Gulf years
On 30 August 2024 he joined Al Jazira of the United Arab Emirates, winning the UAE League Cup in 2024-25. He spent two seasons in Abu Dhabi and became a free agent when his contract expired. In August 2026 he signed for Abha, newly promoted to the Saudi Pro League.
AbhaMidfielderMarket value €499.2K