Olivier Giroud knows a prodigious talent when he sees one. The World Cup winner has played with Kylian Mbappe when he was 18, and he sees the same maturity in his Lille teammate Ayyoub Bouaddi. “I played with Kylian Mbappe when he was 18,” Giroud told BBC Sport. “He was so mature for his age and I have the same feeling with Ayyoub.”
The 18-year-old midfielder announced himself on the global stage with a fearless display for Morocco against Brazil in the World Cup, a performance that left Brazil veteran Casemire substituted at half-time. Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi called it a “masterclass”. Bouaddi won nine duels, completed 60 passes and had 87 touches – more than any other Moroccan player – in the 1-1 draw at the New York New Jersey Stadium.
“Ayyoub Bouaddi announced himself on the World Cup stage with a masterclass against Brazil, leaving Casemiro substituted at half-time.”
But Bouaddi’s “rise to prominence is nothing new”, according to a Lille insider. The midfielder grew up in Creil, northern France, and represented France at youth levels. However, he always felt pride in his family’s Moroccan roots. To explain his decision to play for Morocco over the country of his birth, Bouaddi uploaded an old Instagram photo of himself aged 10 watching the 2018 World Cup in a Morocco shirt. “I am aware of the privilege I have to defend these colours and I will give everything to best represent my country,” he vowed.
Giroud, who had been “teasing him the whole year regarding picking France”, now watches him from the same dressing room at Lille. Bouaddi has also attracted interest from Arsenal, Liverpool and other European clubs, according to recent transfer reports. Yet his former coach at Creil, Sofiane Khair, is unsurprised: “No one is shocked here. For us, it's logical.” Another former coach, Armand Doue, added: “He does this kind of match every weekend on the pitches of Ligue 1.”