Karim Rekik

Manchester City

Rekik signed for Manchester City from Feyenoord in the summer of 2011, and made his debut appearance for the first team in the Dublin Super Cup in pre-season. He made his official first team debut for Manchester City on 21 September 2011 against Birmingham City in the third round of the League Cup, coming on as a substitute for Wayne Bridge in the last 12 minutes of the game. His debut against Birmingham City saw him become the youngest overseas player to appear in a senior game for City, just 16 years and 294 days old. He also made a 73rd-minute substitute appearance in the fourth round of the competition against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux, in place of Luca Scapuzzi. Rekik returned to Manchester City at the end of the 2011–12 season. On 5 December 2012, it was announced that Rekik signed a long-term contract with the club. He would go on to start in his Premier League debut, a 1–0 win at home to Reading on 22 December 2012, and was substituted for James Milner in the 84th minute. Reading claimed that they deserved a penalty for Rekik's challenge on Jay Tabb, which was not given by referee Mike Dean. On 10 August 2014, Rekik was an unused substitute as City lost the Community Shield 3–0 to Arsenal at Wembley Stadium.

Loan spells in England

On 22 March 2012, it was confirmed that Michael Appleton was to take Scapuzzi and Rekik on a month's loan at Portsmouth in the Football League Championship. He made his debut for Portsmouth on…

Rekik was eligible to play for Netherlands, through his birthplace, and Tunisia, through his father. Rekik was called up by Netherlands U17 in September 2010 and made his Netherlands U17 debut, in a 0–0 draw against Italy U17. Rekik was then called up into the squad by Netherlands U17 for the UEFA European Under-17 Championship and scored the opening game of the season, in a 2–0 win over Germany U17. Rekik went on to help the club reach the final, where Netherlands U17 beat Germany U17 5–2. Rekik was then called up by Netherlands U19 in October 2011 and made his Netherlands U19 debut, in a 3–0 win over Moldova U19. Rekik then captained his first Netherlands U19 game, in a 2–0 win over Norway U19. Rekik went on to captain five times in his eleven appearances. In August 2013, Rekik was first called up Netherlands for the two matches in the World Cup Qualifying, but was never used. Rekik made his debut for the Netherlands national team in a 2–0 friendly defeat to France at the Stade de France 6 March 2014. In May 2014, he was named in manager Louis van Gaal's provisional 30-man squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. However, on 31 May 2014, van Gaal announced his final squad, which saw Rekik left out of the 23 man squad.

Club

As of match played 31 May 2023

Notes

International

As of match played 14 November 2017

Rekik was born in The Hague. His father was born in Tunisia and his mother is a Dutch primary school teaching assistant. He has a younger brother, Omar, who is also a professional footballer currently playing for NK Maribor. Rekik started his football when he joined Scheveningen in 1999 before joining Feyenoord, where he went on to stay for nine years. But in March 2011, Manchester City made an approach for Rekik, as Feyernood were determined to keep a hold off him. The approach was to be controversial, as the club took the case matter to the Dutch FA, as a result of the club losing their youngsters to Premier League clubs. The club was also considering legal action against Rekik's agent Søren Lerby, though he insisted he was following FIFA's rules. The case was dismissed.