Nabil El Zhar

Forward · Liverpool 2006–2011

Personal

Born
27 August 1986
Place of birth
Alès, France
Nationality
Morocco
International
Morocco 10/2 Debut 26.03.2008 vs. Belgium
Other clubs
Saint Etienne (2004-06), PAOK Salonika (loan 2010-11), Levante (2011-15), UD Las Palmas (2015-17), CD Leganes (2017-19, Al Ahli (2019-21), Muaither (2022-23)

At Liverpool

Signed from
Saint Etienne
Joined
21 August 2006
Transfer fee
£200,000
First goal
31 October 2007
Last goal
31 October 2007
Last appearance
9 May 2010
Left the club
18 August 2011

Liverpool career

32 Appearances
1 Goals
1 Assists
  • League 21 apps · 0 goals · 1 assist
  • Win ratio 46.88% — W 15 · D 10 · L 7

Player profile

El Zhar was voted the second-best player of the 2005 Youth World Championships as an attacking midfielder, who liked to play just behind the forwards. That fact really defied belief considering his performances for Liverpool. After making just three first-team appearances in both 2006/07 and 2007/08, El Zhar was called on 19 times in 2008/09, although only three of those appearances were from the start of a match. Benítez' confidence that the young Moroccan still had a part to play at Anfield was shown in 2009 when El Zhar signed a two-year extension to his contract that tied him to the club until 2012. 2009/10 didn't turn out to be a big breakthrough season for the young prodigy either. He started just one match, the final Premier League fixture at Hull and made six appearances as a substitute. He was loaned to PAOK in Greece on the last day of the transfer window in January 2010 and released from his Liverpool contract in August 2011. He signed a two-year contract with Spanish club Levante. El Zhar appeared in two-thirds of Levante's 38 La Liga fixtures as they finished sixth in the 2011/12 season and qualified for European football for the first time in their history.

El Zhar played in thirty-one of Levante's thirty-eight La Liga matches in the 2012/13 season. He also appeared five times in the Europa League and twice in the Copa del Rey. He scored twice in League matches (against Atlético Madrid and Athletic Club of Bilbao) and once in the Europa League (at Motherwell in the Play-off round). Levante's finishing league position slipped from 6th to 12th and they were four points and two places away from qualifying to play in the Europa League again in 2013/14. The winger played in 24 of Levante's 38 la Liga matches in 2013/14, scoring 4 times. In 2015 he left Levante for newly promoted side UD Las Palmas, where he scored twice in thirty appearances in his first season. In January 2017 he joined another La Liga side, Madrid based CD Leganes, on a free transfer, where he remained until July 2019 when he moved to Al Ahli in Qatar. In 2019/20 he appeared in all 22 games in the Qatar Stars League and remained there for the following season. He moved to another Qatari club, Muaither, in 2022 and retired from playing in 2023 then spent a season there as assistant manager. 

Appearances per season

Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
2006-2007 3 0 0 0 0 3
2007-2008 0 1 2 0 0 3
2008-2009 15 0 2 2 0 19
2009-2010 3 0 0 4 0 7
Totals 21 1 4 6 0 32

A more detailed look at the player's appearances

Apps Mins Opponent
32 742 All opponents
3 60 Blackburn Rovers
3 83 Hull City
3 22 Sunderland
2 13 Arsenal
2 38 Atletico Madrid
2 34 Fulham
2 75 Middlesbrough
2 27 Portsmouth
2 44 Standard Liege
1 0 Benfica
1 21 Bolton Wanderers
1 71 Cardiff City
1 31 Chelsea
1 87 Crewe Alexandra
1 2 Lille
1 5 Luton Town
1 27 Manchester City
1 0 Manchester United
1 90 Tottenham Hotspur
1 12 Wigan Athletic
Total Started/substitutions
5 Started
4 Substituted
27 Substitute
17 On bench
Total Venue
16 Home
16 Away
Total W D L Win% Manager
32 15 10 7 46.9% Rafa Benítez

Goals per season

Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
2007-2008 0 0 1 0 0 1
Totals 0 0 1 0 0 1

The player scored 1 goals in 1 different matches.

A more detailed look at the player's goals

Total Opponent
1 Cardiff City
Total Started/substitutions
1 Started
Total Competition
1 League Cup
Total Goal minute period
1 46-60 minutes
Total Goal origin
1 Open play
Total Assisted by
1 Steven Gerrard

Assists per season

Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
2008-2009 1 0 0 0 0 1
Totals 1 0 0 0 0 1

A more detailed look at the player's assists

Total Opponent
1 Wigan Athletic
Total Competition
1 Premier League
Total For player
1 Albert Riera
Related Articles
Bright future for the Liverpool FC youngsters

Article relating to Liverpool's 2-1 win over Cardiff on 31.10.2007.