Yassine Bounou

Yassine Bounou (ياسين بونو; born 5 April 1991), also known as Bono, is a Moroccan professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal and the Morocco national team.

Bono began his youth career in Morocco, playing for Wydad AC. He spent most of his senior career in Spain, making over 150 La Liga appearances, and over 50 in the Segunda División. He won the Zamora Trophy for the first time in the history of Sevilla FC.

Born in Canada to Moroccan parents, Bono returned to Morocco at the age of three with his family. He has been a full international for Morocco since 2013. Having previously played for the under-23 team at the 2012 Olympics, he has represented his nation at two FIFA World Cup and four Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.

Club career
Bounou was born in Montreal, Quebec. His father, who is originally from the region of Taounate, moved to Canada when he was a child. Bounou and his parents moved to Casablanca, Morocco when he was 3 years old. He began playing in the streets as a child and joined Wydad AC at the age of 8 in 1999. He liked to play using his feet, but due to his height it was later suggested he become a goalkeeper; a challenge he accepted. The goalkeeper idol is Edwin van der Sar. His parents initially had mixed feelings regarding their son spending so much time playing football, but they later became more supportive as his talent became more evident. At 17 years old, his goalkeeping skills were spotted by a scout from OGC Nice, and he signed with the club; however due to bureaucratic problems he ended up not playing for Nice, and he returned to Wydad AC. In 2011, he made his senior debut in the club, after having been promoted to the first-team a year earlier.

Wydad AC
Bono moved to the first team in 2010 at the age of nineteen as second, behind Nadir Lamyaghri, started his first match with the Wydad AC first team in front of 80,000 supporters on the occasion of the final of the CAF Champions League against Espérance de Tunis.

On 21 November 2011, Bono played his first Botola Pro match against Difaâ El Jadida. He takes part in ten league matches, and then he goes to Atlético Madrid.

Atlético Madrid
On 14 June 2012, Bono moved to La Liga club Atlético Madrid, where he was initially named to the second team the reserves in Segunda División B. and as a third goalkeeper with the first team, and he signed a new four-year deal on 31 May 2013. In the summer of 2014, after profiting from Thibaut Courtois and Daniel Aranzubia's departures, he was definitively promoted to the main squad. He made his first-team debut on 24 July 2014, in a 1–0 pre-season friendly win against Numancia.

Zaragoza
On 1 September 2014, Bono was loaned to the Segunda División's Real Zaragoza, in a season-long deal. Kept out by Óscar Whalley for the first half of the campaign, he made his debut the following 11 January in a 5–3 loss at UD Las Palmas, and finished the season with 16 appearances. In the play-offs, after Whalley's performance led to a 0–3 home loss to Girona FC in the first leg, Bounou replaced him in the second for a 4–1 win and advancement on away goals; Zaragoza lost the final by the same rule to UD Las Palmas. On 23 July 2015, he returned to the Aragonese side, again in a one-year loan deal.

Girona
On 12 July 2016, Bounou signed a permanent two-year contract with fellow league team Girona. He played exactly half of games in his first season – sharing with René Román – as they were promoted in second place. In January 2019, now first choice at the top-flight club, he extended his contract until June 2021.

Sevilla
On 2 September 2019, after suffering relegation with the Catalans, Bounou joined Sevilla in the top tier, on loan for one year. Second-choice to Tomáš Vaclík in the league season, he played regularly in the domestic cup and as the side won the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League, earning plaudits for his performance against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the quarter-finals as he saved a penalty from Raúl Jiménez to earn a 1–0 win, also in the 2–1 semi-final win over Manchester United, and eventually his decisive save of Romelu Lukaku's one-on-one strike, to win the final 3–2 against Inter Milan.

On 4 September 2020, Bono signed a permanent four-year contract with the Andalusians. The following 21 March, in the last minute of a match against Real Valladolid, he scored his first goal as a professional goalkeeper to secure a 1–1 draw. In the calendar year 2021, Bono kept 32 clean sheets in 59 games for club and country, the most for any goalkeeper in Europe's top five leagues (second place was Ederson of Manchester City and Brazil, with 30 in 59).

On 27 February 2022, Bounou assisted a goal by international teammate Munir El Haddadi in a 2–1 win over Real Betis in the Seville derby, his fourth goal contribution for Sevilla (three assists and a goal). In April, his contract was extended by one year to 2025. After claiming the La Liga Ricardo Zamora Trophy for 2021–22 (the first recipient playing for a club other than Real Madrid, Barcelona or Atlético Madrid since Roberto Abbondanzieri of Getafe in 2006–07), Bounou was nominated for The Best FIFA Men's Goalkeeper at the end of 2022 along with Emiliano Martínez and Thibaut Courtois, in which he eventually finished in second place.

On 31 May 2023, Bono was named Player of the Match in the Europa League final against Roma, where he managed to save two penalty kicks in a 4–1 victory for Sevilla in the penalty shootout after a 1–1 draw, which secured their seventh title in the competition. He was among the final three nominees for the 2023 Best FIFA Men's Goalkeeper alongside Courtois again, and eventual winner Ederson.

Al-Hilal
On 17 August 2023, Bono joined Riyadh-based side Al-Hilal on a three-year contract. In 2023, Bounou has been nominated for the 2023 Ballon d'Or and The 2023 Best FIFA Football Awards. On 30 October 2023, Bounou was ranked 13th place in the 2023 Ballon d'Or and ranked 3rd in the 2023 Yashin Trophy. On 1 November 2023, Bounou was nominated for the 2023 African Footballer of the Year and 2023 African Goalkeeper of the Year by CAF. On 11 December 2023, Bono won the best goalkeeper in Africa trophy at the CAF.

International career
Bounou was eligible to represent Canada or Morocco, but opted to represent the latter, appearing with the under-20 team at the 2012 Toulon Tournament, playing in one match during the competition. He was also selected in the 18-man under-23 squad for the 2012 Summer Olympics, but acted as a backup to Mohamed Amsif during the tournament, in which Morocco were eliminated at the group stage.

In an interview, Bounou said that he had been contacted by the manager of the Canada national team, Benito Floro, but that this ultimately did not materialise. Moreover, he said to the interviewer that he grew up in Morocco, and deep down dreamed of representing the Moroccan national team.

On 14 August 2013, Bounou was called up to the main squad for a friendly match against Burkina Faso. He made his debut in the following day, playing the entire second half of an eventual 1–2 defeat in Tangier.

In May 2018, Bounou was named in Morocco's 23-man squad for the World Cup in Russia, where he served as reserve goalkeeper to Munir Mohamedi. At the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt he was first choice for Hervé Renard's team, keeping clean sheets in 1–0 wins over Namibia and the Ivory Coast to qualify for the last 16.

Bounou was also called up for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon. At the tournament, he made headlines for his defense of Arabic and refusal to speak to the press in French or English; a jab at the African Nations Cup for not having hired a single Arabic translator.

On 10 November 2022, Bounou was named in Morocco's 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. He made two saves during the round of 16 penalty shoot-out against Spain, leading to Morocco qualifying for the quarter-finals for the first time in their history, where they won 1–0 against Portugal, becoming the first African team to reach the semi-finals. He kept four clean sheets, the most out of any goalkeeper in the tournament. He was the first African to reach three clean sheets at a World Cup.

On 28 December 2023, Bounou was amongst the 27 players selected by Walid Regragui to represent Morocco at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

Personal life
Bounou was born in Canada to Moroccan parents from Casablanca. Along with his national teammates, Bounou donated his blood for the needy affected by the 2023 Marrakesh-Safi earthquake.

Honours
Wydad AC
 * Botola Pro: 2009–10
 * CAF Champions League runner-up: 2011

Atlético Madrid
 * La Liga: 2013–14
 * Supercopa de España: 2014

Sevilla
 * UEFA Europa League: 2019–20, 2022–23

Al Hilal
 * Saudi Pro League: 2023–24
 * King Cup: 2023–24
 * Saudi Super Cup: 2023

Morocco
 * FIFA World Cup: 2022 Fourth Place

Individual
 * La Liga Zamora Trophy: 2021–22
 * La Liga Best African Player: 2021–22
 * La Liga Team of the Season: 2021–22
 * UEFA Europa League Team of the Season: 2019–20, 2022–23
 * UEFA Europa League Final Man of the Match: 2022–23
 * IFFHS Africa Team of The Year: 2022, 2023
 * "Lion d'Or" African Footballer of the Year: 2023
 * "Africa d'Or" African Footballer of the Year: 2023
 * African Goalkeeper of the Year: 2023
 * UMFP Best Moroccan goalkeeper abroad: 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24
 * Saudi Professional League Goalkeeper of the Season: 2023–24
 * Saudi Professional League Goalkeeper of the Month: October 2023, November 2023, February 2024
 * King Cup Final Man of the Match: 2023–24

Orders
 * Order of the Throne: 2022