Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou is close to leaving Al-Hilal

Saudi sources revealed that the brilliant Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou may leave the ranks of Al-Hilal Club in the coming weeks.

The sources explained that Al-Hilal has already received offers from clubs in the English, Spanish and Turkish leagues to include Bono, following the international goalkeeper's brilliance with his country's national team in the 2026 World Cup.

Al-Hilal's management is considering the option of selling the remaining period of  Bounou's contract, which extends until 2028, in light of the growing interest in the Moroccan goalkeeper, noting  that external offers may push the club to make a decision to financially benefit from the sale of his contract.

Mohammed Al-Owais replaces Bono

He added that the management of Al-Hilal Club Company may strengthen its orientation towards this option with the presence of a ready alternative, represented by the Saudi international goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais, whose services have been restored by the club again, which gives the team the option to rely mainly on him during the next stage.

Yassine Bounou's shares rose significantly after his distinguished appearance with the Moroccan national team at the 2026 World Cup, as the 35-year-old goalkeeper continued to perform at strong levels during which he led the Atlas Lions to the quarter-finals.

This brilliance comes as an extension of the career of a goalkeeper who used to appear on big dates, after he was one of the champions of the Moroccan national team in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, when he became the first Arab and African goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet in knockout matches at the World Cup, and contributed to Morocco's reach the semi-finals for the first time in the history of African teams.

Bono in brief

Yassine Bounou started his career at the academy of the Moroccan sports club Wydad, before rising to the first team, where he established himself as one of the most prominent goalkeepers in Moroccan football.

Bono played professionally in Spain, after moving to Atletico Madrid in 2012, then played on loan with Real Zaragoza, before settling in La Liga via the Girona Gate.

But the highlight of his European career was with Sevilla, where he moved in 2019, where he became one of the best goalkeepers in La Liga, helping the team win the Europa League title in 2020, and winning the best goalkeeper award in the tournament.

In the summer of 2023, Bounou moved to Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal as part of the club's major deals, to continue his strong presence in Saudi stadiums, and contribute to the team's crowns locally, before becoming one of the most prominent names in the Moroccan national team's roster.

Egyptian media launch scathing attack on Bono

On Friday  , July 10, the Egyptian media launched a scathing attack on Bono for a statement in which he praised the Argentine star Lionel Messi, and how he "carried his country's national team on his shoulders" and brought him back to the match against Egypt, after he was behind by two clean goals until the last quarter of an hour of the match.

 Egyptian  journalist Yasmine Ezz sarcastically reviewed Yassine Bounou's statement on her program on MBC Egypt, commenting, "Okay, Yassin, Bounou, didn't you like Mbappe? Who also regained his personality when a goal entered you made the net chirp? Didn't you like that every Mbappe shot was sweeter than the one before it? Didn't you like that no one knew how to take the ball from him? Didn't you like that we didn't see the France keeper?"

The Egyptian journalist continued to mock the Moroccan goalkeeper, saying, "Didn't you also like Ousmane Dembele's second goal, running and mocking what he knows to get, and its corner is a cunning creeping ground, and you know that you are a good friend of mine who blocks the first goal, the cousin of the second goal."

Yasmine Ezz stated that the reason she was angry with Bouno was his praise for Messi, saying, "I didn't like Messi, because he is a thief, a conspirator, a visionary, the prodigal son who is disabled with Infantino (the president of FIFA)."

She concluded her speech by saying, "You, Yassin, are not Bono, we are satisfied with each other's feelings because we are Arabs, you forgot that we are Arabs, your opinion should be kept to yourself."