Players - Yossi Benayoun

Yossi Benayoun
Birthdate: 5 May 1980
Birthplace: Dimona, Israel
Other clubs: Hapoel Be'er Sheva (1995-98), Maccabi Haifa (1998-2002), Racing Santander (2002-05), West Ham United (2005-07), Chelsea (2010-13), Arsenal (loan 2011-12), West Ham United (loan 2012), Queens Park Rangers (2013-14), Maccabi Haifa (2/ 2014-16), Maccabi Tel Aviv (2016-17), Beitar Jerusalem (2017-18), Maccabi Petah Tikva (2018-19), Beitar Jerusalem (2019)
Signed from: West Ham United
Signed for LFC: £5m, 13.07.2007
International debut: 18.11.1998 vs. Portugal
International caps: 92/24 (14/4 at LFC) - 26.03.2013
Liverpool debut: 15.08.2007
Last appearance: 02.05.2010
Debut goal: 25.09.2007
Last goal: 29.04.2010
Contract expiry: 02.07.2010
Win ratio: 53.73% W:72 D:33 L:29
Games/goals ratio: 4.62
Games/assists ratio: 6.7
Total games/goals opposite LFC: 7 / 0
League games / goals / assists: 92 / 18 / 11
Total games / goals / assists: 134 / 29 / 20

Player Profile

Benayoun blossomed at Maccabi Haifa at club and international level. He was voted Player of the Year as Maccabi won their first title in seven years in the 2000/01 season, and a year later triumphed in the League again. In 2003, the midfielder was on his way to northern Spain and Racing Santander. Benayoun starred in a struggling Santander side and established a good reputation that Rafa was very aware of. After 101 league appearances and 21 goals, Santander was forced to cash in because of financial dire straits. West Ham parted with £2.5million for the Israeli playmaker in the summer of 2005. He scored five goals and made seven assists as the Hammers finished a respectable ninth in the 2005/06 season and reached the FA Cup final. Benayoun proved very tricky for Liverpool's defence and his performance certainly played its part in Rafa signing him a year later.

Benayoun's first season at Anfield can certainly be described as successful as he featured in 47 of Liverpool's 59 competitive matches but was introduced as a substitute 21 times which must have been frustrating. Benítez felt he was a match-winner but more often than to Benayoun's liking he didn't have a place for him in the starting line-up. Still, eleven goals was a more than satisfactory figure for a man playing as a second striker and included hat-tricks against Besiktas in the Champions League and Havant & Waterlooville in the FA Cup. He had a knack of being 'in the right place at the right time' because no fewer than three of those six goals came when he reacted quickly to shots by his colleagues that had been saved or blocked.

Benayoun made further progress in his second season as Liverpool made a championship challenge. His skill on the ball was a joy to behold and his vision second to none but he was still considered mainly an impact player. He scored nine times from 42 first-team appearances in the 2008/09 season and signed a two-year extension to his contract binding him to the club until 2013. Benayoun had another steady season in 2009/10 starting 29 competitive matches but significantly being replaced in 22 of them. His hat-trick in the early-season Anfield encounter with Burnley was a unique treble in another way too, making him the only English-based player to have scored hat-tricks in the Premier League, the Champions League and the FA Cup.

Ironically Benayoun's best-ever form in a Liverpool shirt, when he played more regularly in the second half of the 2009/10 season, was rewarded with a transfer to Chelsea in the summer of 2010! His move came as a surprise to say the least and Benayoun explained why he left: "There is only one reason - Rafa Benítez. I want Liverpool fans to know the truth and for them to know I made up my mind to leave a long time ago because of Benítez. He never treated me with the respect I deserved." Benayoun's first season back at a London club since 2006/07 was definitely one to forget. A serious Achilles injury kept him out of action for over half the season and although he eventually made a good recovery he only played in seven Premier League matches for Chelsea. Benayoun was loaned to Arsenal in the 2011/12 season where he played 26 first-team matches, scoring six times. The 32-year-old Benayoun made another loan-move, this time back to one of his former clubs, West Ham United, in the summer. He only made four starts at the Hammers and returned to Chelsea at the end of December 2012.

Benayoun, who reached his 33rd birthday shortly before the end of the 2012/13 season, made only six Premier League appearances for Chelsea once he had returned to Stamford Bridge from his loan spell at West Ham, for whom he had also appeared in the Premier League just six times. Benayoun became a free agent in the summer of 2013. On 10 December 2013 Benayoun moved to Queens Park Rangers for the remainder of the 2013/14 season. Sixteen league appearances and three goals show that the short-term deal with Rangers was beneficial for both the player and the club. Rangers reached the Championship play-off final as they sought to make an immediate return to the Premier League but it was unclear at the time of that final whether the Israeli, who passed his 34th birthday shortly before the end of the 2013/14 season, would be seeking a new contract with Rangers or any other club.

On 6 June 2014, it was announced that the 34-year-old midfielder had agreed a two-year contract with one of his former clubs, Maccabi Haifa. He then joined Maccabi Tel Aviv in the summer of 2016 but only found the net once. For 2017-18 he was with Beitar Jerusalem but lost his place in the second half of the season. At the beginning of 2018/19, he joined Maccabi Petah Tikva, then moved back to Beitar in the January transfer window. He announced in April 2019 that this would be his last season as a player and in his final game on 4 May, he captained Beitar in a 3-2 home defeat to Ashdod. Benayoun's five children were at the game, each wearing a shirt of the five different clubs he had played for in England. 


Appearances per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 92 6 4 32 0 134
2007-2008 30 3 3 11 0 47
2008-2009 32 1 0 9 0 42
2009-2010 30 2 1 12 0 45
A more detailed look at the player's appearances
Apps Minutes Opponent
8 351 Chelsea
6 435 West Ham United
6 432 Blackburn Rovers
6 325 Portsmouth
6 318 Arsenal
6 305 Manchester City
6 286 Wigan Athletic
5 290 Fulham
5 278 Manchester United
5 218 Everton
5 170 Tottenham
4 289 Sunderland
4 257 Aston Villa
4 229 Reading
4 228 Marseille
4 207 Bolton Wanderers
4 171 Middlesbrough
3 287 Atletico Madrid
3 240 Newcastle United
3 239 Hull City
3 238 Birmingham City
3 183 Stoke City
2 180 Fiorentina
2 175 Lyon
2 163 WBA
2 151 Standard Liege
2 149 Toulouse
2 131 Burnley
2 121 Besiktas
2 100 Debrecen VSC
2 90 Benfica
2 66 Derby
1 90 Barnsley
1 90 Real Madrid
1 88 Wolves
1 85 Luton Town
1 78 Unirea Urziceni
1 72 Havant
1 71 Porto
1 27 Cardiff City
1 24 Inter Milan
1 22 PSV Eindhoven
1 9 Lille
Total Started/substitutions
81 Started
14 On the bench
53 Substitute
47 Substituted
Total Venue
68 Home
66 Away
Total Competition
92 Premier League
26 Champions League
6 FA Cup
6 Europa League
4 League Cup
Total W D L Win % Manager
134 72 33 29 53.7% Rafa Benítez
Goals per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 18 3 1 7 0 29
2007-2008 4 3 1 3 0 11
2008-2009 8 0 0 1 0 9
2009-2010 6 0 0 3 0 9
A more detailed look at the player's goalscoring
Assists per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 11 0 1 8 0 20
2007-2008 2 0 1 4 0 7
2008-2009 5 0 0 1 0 6
2009-2010 4 0 0 3 0 7
A more detailed look at the player's assists
Milestone Appearances
# Date Against Stadium Competition
1 15.08.2007 Toulouse Stadium Municipal Europe
50 23.08.2008 Middlesbrough Anfield League
100 17.10.2009 Sunderland Stadium of Light League
Milestone Goals
# Minute Date Against Stadium Competition
1 23 25.09.2007 Reading Madejski Stadium League Cup
Related Articles
FURIOUS Yossi Benayoun today accuses Rafa Benitez of making his life a misery at Liverpool

By Chris Bascombe at News of the World on 10 July 2010.

Liverpool Echo report

Liverpool Echo report by James Pearce on Liverpool - Burnley on 12.09.2009.

Rafa keeps us on our toes

Yossi Benayoun has revealed Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez did not even congratulate his team after their famous first-leg Champions League win over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu last month.

Liverpool Daily Post report

Match report from Liverpool- Besiktas by Ian Doyle at Anfield.

Liverpool hit back to the power of eight

Kevin McCarra at Anfield on November 6, 2007 from The Guardian.

Benayoun saves Reds' blushes

Observer match report from Wigan - Liverpool on 29.10.2007.

Dear Yossi

Former Liverpool defender Avi Cohen - the first Israeli to play for Liverpool - has penned a letter to fellow countryman Yossi Benayoun following his transfer to Anfield.

Rafa: Fans in for a treat next season

Rafa Benitez believes Liverpool fans are in for a treat when they see Ryan Babel and Yossi Benayoun in a red shirt next season. Published 13 July 2007.

Yossi Benayoun: The Kid from Dimona

An interview from the Independent, published on 24th of September 2005.

Other Clubs
Club Season Club rank League apps League goals Total apps Total goals
Hapoel Be'er Sheva 1997-1998 Israel 1 28 15 32 17
Maccabi Haifa 1998-1999 Israel 1 29 16 33 18
Maccabi Haifa 1999-2000 Israel 1 39 19 39 19
Maccabi Haifa 2000-2001 Israel 1 38 13 42 13
Maccabi Haifa 2001-2002 Israel 1 26 7 27 7
Racing Santander 2002-2003 Spain 1 31 4 31 4
Racing Santander 2003-2004 Spain 1 35 7 35 7
Racing Santander 2004-2005 Spain 1 35 9 35 9
West Ham United 2005-2006 England Premier League 34 5 40 5
West Ham United 2006-2007 England Premier League 29 3 30 3
Chelsea 2010-2011 England Premier League 7 1 11 1
Arsenal 2011-2012 England Premier League 19 4 25 6
West Ham United 2012-2013 England Premier League 6 0 6 0
Chelsea 2013-2014 England Premier League 0 0 0 0
QPR 2013-2014 England Championship 19 0 20 0
Maccabi Haifa 2014-2015 Israel 1 22 4 25 4
Maccabi Haifa 2015-2016 Israel 1 22 5 24 6
Maccabi Tel Aviv 2016-2017 Israel 1 26 1 42 2
Beitar Jerusalem 2017-2018 Israel 1 22 7 26 8
Maccabi Petah Tikva 2018-2019 Israel 1 12 3 12 3
Beitar Jerusalem 2018-2019 Israel 1 15 0 15 0
Total 494 123 550 132