Before PSV and the Atlas Lions, Saibari first had to learn how to walk

Before emerging as one of Morocco’s brightest football talents and a key figure at PSV Eindhoven, Ismael Saibari’s journey to the top was far from straightforward.

Born in Spain to a modest Moroccan family, Saibari’s earliest challenge had nothing to do with football. Due to a congenital condition, he struggled to take his first steps and spent more than a year wearing a special orthopedic device designed to help him walk properly.

«It wasn’t even about becoming a football player or anything like that», he later recalled.

Once on his feet, football quickly became an obsession. At the age of six, he joined a local club in Terrassa, Catalonia, dreaming of one day wearing the colors of FC Barcelona. But fate had other plans. The 2007 financial crisis forced his family to leave Spain for Belgium in search of a better future.

«They moved to work and give us a better future», he said in one of his interviews.

In Belgium, he continued chasing his dream, progressing through several youth academies, including Beerschot and Anderlecht. Yet another setback awaited him. At 14, despite enjoying one of the best spells of his young career, Anderlecht abruptly released him.

«They told me I was too fat», he recalled. «One day before the new season started, I got the news. It was really painful».

Many young players would have walked away at that point. Saibari did the opposite. Encouraged by his parents, he chose perseverance over disappointment.

«You have two choices: either you give up, or you work towards your goal and become a football player», they told him. The advice stayed with him.

From Setbacks to Success

After spells in Belgium, Saibari joined PSV Eindhoven in 2020. He started with Jong PSV, the club’s reserve side, patiently working his way up. There were no shortcuts. He learned his trade in the Dutch second division before earning his first-team debut later that year.

His breakthrough finally came during the 2023-24 season. Goals, Champions League nights and a league title transformed him from a promising prospect into one of PSV’s key players. His rise accelerated even further over the following two seasons as he became a regular starter, won successive Eredivisie titles, and established himself among the league’s standout performers, eventually being named Eredivisie Player of the Year.

Internationally, Saibari chose Morocco despite being born in Spain and raised partly in Belgium. After progressing through the youth ranks, he helped the Atlas Lions win the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations on home soil and qualify for the Paris Olympics.

His transition to the senior national team proved just as smooth. Since his debut in 2023, he has become an increasingly important figure in Morocco’s midfield, contributing goals in AFCON qualifiers, World Cup qualifiers and friendlies. He was also part of the squad of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, although his tournament was overshadowed by the much-discussed towel incident during the final against Senegal, an episode for which he later apologized.

Now, as Morocco prepares for the 2026 World Cup, Saibari arrives as one of the faces of a new generation.

Asked in an interview what headline he would most like to read about himself one day, his answer was immediate: «Ismael Saibari scores the winner in the World Cup final».