Biography

Experienced Moroccan international winger Nordin Amrabat joined the Tigers in January 2025 on a short term contract for the remainder of the 2024/25 season folloiwng his release by Greek giants AEK Athens. His debut came a day later at Millwall when he came on for the last ten minutes and contributed to a well-earned 1-0 victory.
Noureddine “Nordin” Amrabat was born to parents of Moroccan descent in Naarden, an historic town ten kilomteres east of Amsterdam in the north of the Netherlands. His football talent saw him enter the academy at Ajax Amsterdam as a youngster but a condition that affected his growth meant he had to temporarily halt his football journey at the age of 13. He came back into football later in his teenage years via local Dutch lower league side SV Huizen, establishing a reputation for pacy wing play. In July 2006 he joined Dutch second tier side Almere City FC, who at the time were known as FC Omniworld, and after an August 2006 senior debut against FC Dordrecht he had an impressive first season, netting fifteen goals in 37 appearances.
In July 2007 Amrabat joined newly promoted Dutch Eredivisie side VVV Venlo for a 75,000 euro fee. He continued his good form in a struggling team, scoring ten goals in 36 appearances for a side that ended the season with relegation after an unsuccessful play-off campaign. Nordin’s emerging talent earned him an immediate return to the Eredivisie, in July 2008 Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven paid 2 million euros for his services. He made his PSV debut in the August 2008 John Cruyff Schaal curtain-raiser, a week later he scored on his League debut against FC Utrecht and by September 2008 he was playing Champions League football against Atletico Madrid and Liverpool. In April 2009 he scored in a 6-2 victory over Ajax Amsterdam, the club that rejected him nine years previously, and he ended his first season at PSV with five goals. His form continued into the 2009/10 season but he was used more sparingly in the first half of the 2010/11 season – by January 2011 Nordin had scored twelve goals in 75 appearances for PSV Eindhoven.
In January 2011 Amrabat switched to Turkish Super Lig side Kayserispor, a fee of 2.75 million euros being paid. His January 2011 debut in Turkiye saw him score against Buyuksehir and he was a key first team player for a season and a half, scoring seven goals in 40 appearances. In July 2012 Turkish giants Galatasaray paid 8.6 million euros for Amrabat and he had an impressive 2012/13 season, claiming winners medals in the Super Lig and the Super Kupa and playing regular Champions League football. However in the first half of the 2013/14 season he was rarely used for Super Lig games with his appearances focussed on Gala’s European campaign – when that involvement drew to a close Nordin was at a loose end, having scored three goals for the club in 56 appearances. In January 2014 he joined Spanish La Liga side Malaga CF on a half season loan, scoring two goals in 15 appearances for the Andalusian side. At the end of August 2014 Amrabat returned to Malaga on a season long loan, having been an unused substitute for Galatasary in the Super Kupa final earlier that month. He scored six goals in 35 appearances during his second loan spell at Malaga, showing form that encouraged the Spanish side to pay 2.5 million euro in April 2015 for his permanent transfer.
Nordin added 14 appearances for Malaga in the first half of the 2015/16 season, taking his tally for the club to eight goals in 64 appearances. In January 2016 Premier League side Watford paid a generous £6.1 million fee for Amrabat’s services and he made his debut for the Hornets days later as a last minute substitute against Newcastle United. He made 15 appearances for Watford during the remainder of the 2015/16 season and remained an important member of the Hornets’ first team squad during the 2016/17 season despite missing a chunk of games in January 2017 after being called up by Morocco for the African Cup of Nations. In August 2017 he took his Watford tally to 48 appearances ahead of a September 2017 season-long loan move to Spanish La Liga side CD Leganes. He scored three goals in 35 appearances for the Madrid-based side nicknamed The Cucumbers, when he returned to Watford in the 2018 close season he was made available for transfer.
In July 2018 Nordin joined Saudi Arabia Pro League side Al Nassr and was a key member of the side that lifted the 2018/19 season Saudi League title and remained a first choice during the next two seasons, lifting the Saudi Super Cup twice in January 2020 and January 2021 and losing in the Kings Cup final to Al-Hilal in November 2020. By May 2021 Amrabat had scored seventeen goals in precisely 100 appearances for Riyadh-based side.
In August 2021 Nordin signed for Greek Super League giants AEK Athens on expiry of his Al-Nassr contract. He scored on his September 2021 debut for AEK against Ionikos Nikeas. For three seasons Amrabat was a potent threat from wide positions, scoring regular goals as AEK won the Super League play-offs and the Kypello Elladas in May 2023. He dropped out of the first team in November 2024 and agreed a mutual termination of his contract in January 2025 – he scored 22 goals in 114 appearances for AEK Athens across three and a half seasons. His contract termination enabled him to join Hull City days later.
Nordin’s interrupted path to professional football as a youngster meant he didn’t win international honours until September 2007 when he made the first of 9 appearances for Netherlands Under-21 against Norway – he scored his only Under-21 goal against Portugal in May 2008. He played in two matches for Netherlands Under-23 in March 2009, scoring once, before deciding to represent Morocco, the country of his parents’ origin. He made his senior international debut against Uganda in November 2011 and scored his first goal for his nation two days later against Cameroon. In July 2012 Nordin played in three matches for Morocco’s London 2012 Olympics team. Amrabat was a regular first choice for Morocco for much of the next eight years, including two appearances in the January 2013 African Cup of Nations finals, three appearances in the 2018 World Cup finals hosted by Russia and four appearances in the 2019 African Cup of Nations – he was also part of Morocco’s 2017 AFCON squad but didn’t play due to a foot injury. In October 2019 Nordin netted twice in a friendly against Gabon, taking his international tally to seven goals. A month later in November 2019 he won the last of his 64 international caps against Burundi.
Details
Nationality: Morocco
Date/Place of Birth: 31 March 1987, Naarden (Netherlands)
Hull City First Game: 18 January 2025, Millwall A (Championship), 37 years, 293 days old
Hull City Final Game: [current player]
Clubs
FC Omniworld Almere (2006-2007), VVV Venlo (2007-2008), PSV Eindhoven (2008-2011), Kayserispor (2011-2012), Galatasaray (2012-2015), Malaga (2014, loan), Malaga (2014-2015, loan), Malaga (2015-2016), Watford (2016-2018), CD Leganes (2017-2018, loan), Al Nassr (2018-2021), AEK Athens (2021-2025), Hull City (2025-current)
Hull City Record
Career: 2 apps, 0 goals
Nordin AmrabatSeason | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2024/25 | 0 (2) | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |