# Noussair Mazraoui
**Noussair Mazraoui** (نصير مزراوي; born 1997 in Leiderdorp, Netherlands) is a Moroccan professional footballer who plays as a defender, principally at right-back and left-back, for Manchester United and the Morocco national team[1](https://www.lequipe.fr/fiche/noussair-mazraoui/191139) • [2](https://www.manutd.com/en/teams/mens-team/noussair-mazraoui). A product of the Ajax academy, he won three [Eredivisie](https://www.edgepedia.org/eredivisie) titles with Ajax, the [Bundesliga](https://www.edgepedia.org/bundesliga) with Bayern Munich, and moved to Manchester United in August 2024, where his positional versatility has been his defining feature[1](https://www.lequipe.fr/fiche/noussair-mazraoui/191139) • [2](https://www.manutd.com/en/teams/mens-team/noussair-mazraoui).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1997, Leiderdorp, Netherlands[1](https://www.lequipe.fr/fiche/noussair-mazraoui/191139) |
| Clubs | Ajax (2018–2022), Bayern Munich (July 2022–August 2024), Manchester United (from 13 August 2024)[3](https://www.worldfootball.net/person/pe423081/noussair-mazraoui/) • [2](https://www.manutd.com/en/teams/mens-team/noussair-mazraoui) |
| Honours | 3 Eredivisie titles (2019, 2021, 2022) and KNVB Cup 2019 with Ajax; Bundesliga 2023 and German Super Cup 2022 with Bayern[1](https://www.lequipe.fr/fiche/noussair-mazraoui/191139) |
| Bayern league record | 38 league appearances, 1 goal, 7 assists[4](https://theanalyst.com/players/4165/noussair-mazraoui) |
| United debut | 16 August 2024, Premier League win over Fulham, aged 26 years 275 days[2](https://www.manutd.com/en/teams/mens-team/noussair-mazraoui) • [4](https://theanalyst.com/players/4165/noussair-mazraoui) |
| First United season | 57 appearances across full-back, wing-back, center-back and number 10; second in the Players' Player of the Year vote behind Bruno Fernandes[2](https://www.manutd.com/en/teams/mens-team/noussair-mazraoui) |
| International | Morocco; left-back at the 2022 and 2026 FIFA World Cups[2](https://www.manutd.com/en/teams/mens-team/noussair-mazraoui) |
## Ajax
Mazraoui learned his trade in Ajax's youth teams and debuted for the first team in 2018[5](https://fcbayern.com/en/teams/first-team/noussair-mazraoui) • [6](https://as.com/futbol/mundial/la-vida-es-corta-quiero-memorizar-el-coran-y-ser-iman-f202606-n/). He had spent his formative years as a midfielder, and [Erik ten Hag](https://www.edgepedia.org/erik-ten-hag) converted him into a right-back shortly after he broke into the senior squad[7](https://theanalyst.com/articles/noussair-mazraoui-compared-aaron-wan-bissaka-man-utd). For a time he struggled to displace [Sergiño Dest](https://www.edgepedia.org/sergino-dest), but he established himself in Ten Hag's final season in Amsterdam, playing a role that took him frequently into central spaces and forming a strong on-pitch relationship with the winger Antony[7](https://theanalyst.com/articles/noussair-mazraoui-compared-aaron-wan-bissaka-man-utd).
His honors at Ajax were three Eredivisie championships (2019, 2021, 2022) and the 2019 [KNVB Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/knvb-cup), and he was part of the side that reached the 2019 Champions League semi-finals[1](https://www.lequipe.fr/fiche/noussair-mazraoui/191139). In 2022 he left on a free transfer for Bayern Munich, having reportedly also drawn interest from Barcelona and Juventus[8](https://www.squawka.com/en/features/explained-ajax-noussair-mazraoui-levelling-up/).
## Bayern Munich
Mazraoui spent two seasons at Bayern (July 2022 to August 2024), winning the 2022 German Super Cup and the [2022–23 Bundesliga](https://www.edgepedia.org/2022-23-bundesliga)[1](https://www.lequipe.fr/fiche/noussair-mazraoui/191139) • [3](https://www.worldfootball.net/person/pe423081/noussair-mazraoui/). His league output was modest in volume but efficient: 38 appearances with one goal and seven assists[4](https://theanalyst.com/players/4165/noussair-mazraoui). His time at the club was disrupted by short spells on the sidelines, and he averaged 27 club games per season there[7](https://theanalyst.com/articles/noussair-mazraoui-compared-aaron-wan-bissaka-man-utd) • [9](https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/football/2025/05/21/europa-league-final-man-united-reap-rewards-of-noussair-mazraouis-cool-consistency/).
In the CIES Football Observatory's April 2024 technical report, covering domestic league play from April 2023 to March 2024, Mazraoui ranked among the leading full-backs in the big-five leagues for distribution, with an index of 80.4 over 1,514 minutes, 95 percent of them at full-back[10](https://football-observatory.com/IMG/pdf/mr94en.pdf).
## Manchester United
Manchester United signed Mazraoui on 13 August 2024, paying Bayern about 15 million euros, alongside his former Ajax and Bayern team-mate [Matthijs de Ligt](https://www.edgepedia.org/matthijs-de-ligt); both players had previously worked under Erik ten Hag at Ajax, and the signing came as [Aaron Wan-Bissaka](https://www.edgepedia.org/aaron-wan-bissaka) was sold to West Ham[2](https://www.manutd.com/en/teams/mens-team/noussair-mazraoui) • [11](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/el-corazon-da-otro-susto-a-mazraoui-n/) • [7](https://theanalyst.com/articles/noussair-mazraoui-compared-aaron-wan-bissaka-man-utd). Mazraoui said at the time that Ten Hag had played an important part in his development[12](https://thesikhtimes.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/SIKH-TIMES-WEBSITE-PAGE-14.pdf).
His first appearance came in the Premier League victory against Fulham on 2024/25's opening matchday, and he started regularly for the bulk of that campaign.[2](https://www.manutd.com/en/teams/mens-team/noussair-mazraoui) Under Ten Hag and then Ruben Amorim he made 57 appearances across a variety of positions, including full-back, wing-back, center-back and even as a number 10, and finished second in the club's Players' Player of the Year vote behind [Bruno Fernandes](https://www.edgepedia.org/bruno-fernandes)[2](https://www.manutd.com/en/teams/mens-team/noussair-mazraoui). That workload was a large step up: he had averaged 27 games per season at Bayern and about 32 once established at Ajax[9](https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/football/2025/05/21/europa-league-final-man-united-reap-rewards-of-noussair-mazraouis-cool-consistency/). He hit the bar in the Europa League semi-final in Bilbao as United reached the final against Tottenham Hotspur[13](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/man-united-noussair-mazraoui-europa-league-final-b2752937.html).
His contract runs to 2028[6](https://as.com/futbol/mundial/la-vida-es-corta-quiero-memorizar-el-coran-y-ser-iman-f202606-n/).
## Morocco
Mazraoui is a Morocco international and was in the Atlas Lions squad at the 2019 [Africa Cup of Nations](https://www.edgepedia.org/africa-cup-of-nations)[14](https://africa.sis.gov.eg/media/20871/english-net-final-june.pdf). He has typically occupied the left-back role for Morocco despite being right-footed, doing so again at the 2026 World Cup, where he started and assisted [Brahim Díaz](https://www.edgepedia.org/brahim-diaz)'s goal in Morocco's 1–1 opening draw against Brazil[2](https://www.manutd.com/en/teams/mens-team/noussair-mazraoui) • [16](https://apnews.com/article/f7c99c7947a903c46562344462d12057). He was withdrawn with a partial shoulder dislocation in Morocco's final warm-up match against Norway before that tournament[17](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/person/player/scotland-world-cup-opponents-suffer-huge-blow-as-28-goal-star-man-injured-on-eve-of-tournament).
## Playing style
Mazraoui's hallmark is versatility and technical quality in possession. Compared with the defensive specialist Wan-Bissaka he replaced at United, he is more inclined to push forward and influence play in attack: over the two seasons to 2024 he registered 1.35 chance-creating carries with shots per 90 minutes against Wan-Bissaka's 0.76, and his ground-duel success rate of 62.4 percent and aerial-duel rate of 68.9 percent both exceeded Wan-Bissaka's over the same period[7](https://theanalyst.com/articles/noussair-mazraoui-compared-aaron-wan-bissaka-man-utd). He is comfortable charging high and wide on the right, coming inside to link play centrally, and filling in at left-back[18](https://totalfootballanalysis.com/player-analysis/ajax-dusan-tadic-daley-blind-noussair-mazraoui-tactical-analysis) • [7](https://theanalyst.com/articles/noussair-mazraoui-compared-aaron-wan-bissaka-man-utd).
His main limitation is durability. His Bayern years were punctuated by short injuries, and at United he has missed time with a muscle injury in autumn 2025 and a shoulder problem in June 2026[7](https://theanalyst.com/articles/noussair-mazraoui-compared-aaron-wan-bissaka-man-utd) • [19](https://www.transfermarkt.us/noussair-mazraoui/verletzungen/spieler/340456). Off the pitch, he has said publicly that he may retire after a World Cup, wanting to memorize the Quran and one day become an imam of a mosque[6](https://as.com/futbol/mundial/la-vida-es-corta-quiero-memorizar-el-coran-y-ser-iman-f202606-n/).
## References
1. [Noussair Mazraoui – fiche joueur, L'Équipe](https://www.lequipe.fr/fiche/noussair-mazraoui/191139)
2. [Noussair Mazraoui – Men's Team, Manchester United](https://www.manutd.com/en/teams/mens-team/noussair-mazraoui)
3. [Noussair Mazraoui: Career, Stats & Clubs, worldfootball.net](https://www.worldfootball.net/person/pe423081/noussair-mazraoui/)
4. [Noussair Mazraoui, Opta Analyst](https://theanalyst.com/players/4165/noussair-mazraoui)
5. [Noussair Mazraoui – FC Bayern Munich player profile](https://fcbayern.com/en/teams/first-team/noussair-mazraoui)
6. ["La vida es corta, quiero memorizar el Corán y ser Imán", AS](https://as.com/futbol/mundial/la-vida-es-corta-quiero-memorizar-el-coran-y-ser-iman-f202606-n/)
7. [What Could Noussair Mazraoui Offer Man Utd That Aaron Wan-Bissaka Lacked?, Opta Analyst](https://theanalyst.com/articles/noussair-mazraoui-compared-aaron-wan-bissaka-man-utd)
8. [Explained: How Ajax's marauding right-back Noussair Mazraoui is levelling up, Squawka](https://www.squawka.com/en/features/explained-ajax-noussair-mazraoui-levelling-up/)
9. [Europa League final: Man United reap rewards of Noussair Mazraoui's cool consistency, The National](https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/football/2025/05/21/europa-league-final-man-united-reap-rewards-of-noussair-mazraouis-cool-consistency/)
10. [Monthly Report 94 – Technical performance analysis in six game areas, CIES Football Observatory](https://football-observatory.com/IMG/pdf/mr94en.pdf)
11. [El corazón da otro susto a Mazraoui, AS](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/el-corazon-da-otro-susto-a-mazraoui-n/)
12. [New Delhi Sikh Times, 15 August 2024](https://thesikhtimes.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/SIKH-TIMES-WEBSITE-PAGE-14.pdf)
13. [Noussair Mazraoui on playing No.10, regrets and the 'strange feeling' at Man United, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/man-united-noussair-mazraoui-europa-league-final-b2752937.html)
14. [Africa 2019, Egyptian State Information Service](https://africa.sis.gov.eg/media/20871/english-net-final-june.pdf)
15. [Morocco squad World Cup 2026, FourFourTwo](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/team/morocco-world-cup-2026-squad)
16. [Brazil rallies for 1-1 draw against Morocco, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/f7c99c7947a903c46562344462d12057)
17. [Scotland World Cup opponents suffer 'huge blow', FourFourTwo](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/person/player/scotland-world-cup-opponents-suffer-huge-blow-as-28-goal-star-man-injured-on-eve-of-tournament)
18. [Three players set to shake-up Ajax's starting eleven, Total Football Analysis](https://totalfootballanalysis.com/player-analysis/ajax-dusan-tadic-daley-blind-noussair-mazraoui-tactical-analysis)
19. [Noussair Mazraoui – Injury history, Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.us/noussair-mazraoui/verletzungen/spieler/340456)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football people and teams › People › Men's footballers of Africa › Maghreb footballers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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