Soufiane Rahimi

Soufiane Rahimi (سفيان رحيمي; born 2 June 1996) is a Moroccan professional footballer who plays as a forward for UAE Pro League club Al Ain and the Morocco national football team.

Rahimi started his professional career playing for Raja CA, before being sent on a loan to Étoile de Casablanca. Rahimi then returned back to his former club after the end of his loan, helping the club win the 2019–20 Botola, the 2018 and 2021 CAF Confederation Cup and the 2019–20 Arab Club Champions Cup. He then signed with UAE Pro League side Al Ain FC.

A full international for Morocco since 2021, Soufiane represented the nation at the 2020 African Nations Championship, 2021 FIFA Arab Cup and 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. Rahimi was the top goalscorer of the 2020 African Nations Championship, with five goals.

Raja Club Athletic
Rahimi scored a total of four goals for Raja CA in 2018 CAF Confederation Cup campaign, including two goals in the final against AS Vita Club in Casablanca. This allowed them to qualify and play the 2019 CAF Super Cup against Espérance Sportive de Tunis; which then ended up winning after a 2–1 victory.

He has been one of the highest performing players in his last two seasons in Botola, becoming a top pick for the Moroccan national team coach to join the local squad. He has been closely linked with a move to Europe, and has stated his ambition of joining the Serie A in press conferences.

Al Ain
On 21 August 2021, he had played his last match with Raja CA in the 2020 Arab Club Champions Cup Final, therefore defeating Al-Ittihad in penalties; before transferring to Emirati club Al Ain. On September 17, Rahimi scored his first goal for the club in a 4–1 victory against Al-Ittihad Kalba. On 12 November 2022, Rahimi scored a double against Sharjah. On 7 November 2023, Rahmi scored in a 3–2 victory against Al Fayha in the 2023–24 AFC Champions League to qualify his team into the Knock-out stages. In the Round of 16, Rahimi scored the winning goal against Nasaf to qualify the team to the Quarter-finals. Rahimi went on to score the winning goal in a 1–0 victory against Al Nassr in the first leg of the quarter-finals and two goals in the second leg. On 15 March 2023, Rahimi scored his first ever hat-trick for the club in a 4–0 win against Ajman. In the first leg of the 2023–24 AFC Champions League Semi-final, Rahimi scored a hat-trick in a 4–2 victory against Al Hilal SFC, putting an end to Al Hilal 34 game winning streak. In the 2024 AFC Champions League final, Al Ain won 6–3 in aggregate against Yokohama F. Marinos, with Rahimi scoring a brace in the second leg, and winning the Most Valuable Player and Top scorer awards.

International career
In 2018, Rahimi was called up to the Moroccan national A' team by Jamal Sellami. Rahimi represented Morocco in the 2020 African Nations Championship, He scored a double in his third game of the group stages against Uganda. He scored in the quarter-finals in a 3–1 victory against Zambia. Morocco won an astonishing 4–0 in the semi-finals against Cameroon. With this performance, Rahimi managed of scoring a total of five goals thus helping his country to achieve the title and becoming the first and only country to win the Championship back to back. He was awarded top scorer and best player of the tournament.

Over two years after his last appearances with the national team, Rahimi was included in Morocco's squad for the friendlies against Angola and Mauritania in March 2024. He came off the bench against Angola and helped create the own-goal by David Carmo. Morocco won 1–0.

Rahimi was selected for Morocco's squad to compete in the men's football at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Personal life
Born in Casablanca, Soufiane Rahimi is the older brother of Houssine Rahimi, who is a footballer and a striker.

International

 * Scores and results list Morocco score listed first, score column indicates score after each Rahimi goal.


 * Scores and results list Morocco's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Rahimi goal.

Honours
Raja CA
 * Botola: 2019–20
 * CAF Confederation Cup: 2018, 2020–21
 * CAF Super Cup: 2019
 * Arab Champions League: 2019–20

Al Ain
 * UAE Pro League: 2021–22
 * UAE League Cup: 2021–22
 * AFC Champions League: 2023–24

Morocco
 * African Nations Championship: 2020

Individual
 * Best Player in Botola: 2019–20, 2020–21
 * Best Young player in Botola: 2018–19
 * Botola Top assist provider: 2020–21
 * Botola Team of the Season: 2020–21
 * Best Player in African Nations Championship: 2020
 * Top Scorer in African Nations Championship: 2020
 * African Nations Championship Team of the Tournament: 2020
 * Raja CA Player of the season: 2020
 * Raja CA Goal of the Season: 2021
 * Pro League player of the month: September 2021, November 2021, February 2022, October 2022, February 2023, September 2023
 * Pro League Best Fans player of the year: 2022, 2023
 * Pro League Team of the year: 2022, 2023
 * AFC Champions League MVP: 2023–24
 * AFC Champions League Top scorer: 2023–24

Record
 * Fastest goal in history of CHAN