Youssef Msakni

Espérance de Tunis

Having spent his youth career at Stade Tunisien, Msakni moved to Espérance de Tunis in July 2008. He played his first game with ES Tunis on 26 July 2009, on the first day of the 2009–10 season, against Olympique Béja. He entered the field in the 79th minute of play in replacement of Henri Bienvenu. Two weeks later, on 8 August, Msakni scored his first league goal in his third game against AS Kasserine in the 54th minute of play of a 4–0 win. On 12 November 2011, he won the CAF Champions League, finishing second in the competition with five goals, just behind Wydad AC striker Fabrice Ondama, who scored six goals. On 30 September 2012, he won the Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 for the fourth time, winning the title of best scorer in the Tunisian football championship with 17 goals. According to Goal.com, Msakni was the 48th best footballer of the 2012 season in all countries, thanks in particular to the performances he realized under the colors of his club or the national team. During the transfer period, he was courted by many French clubs, including Paris Saint-Germain, Lille OSC, AS Monaco and FC Lorient, but on 3 July 2012 the attacking midfielder signed on a four-year contract with Qatari Stars League club Lekhwiya SC, but he joined the club on 1 January 2013.

Lekhwiya and Al Duhail

On 1 January 2013, Msakni became a player of Qatari club Lekhwiya SC for a period of four and a half years; the total amount of the transfer was 23…

CAN 2010

On 14 December 2009, he received his first call-up to the Tunisia national team from coach Faouzi Benzarti for a friendly against Gambia in preparation for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations. On 9 January 2010, at Stade El Menzah. He entered the field in the 35th minute following Oussama Darragi's injury. Msakni played his first Africa Cup of Nations at only 19 years old and held a place in the Benzarti squad. In the first match, against Zambia, he delivered a decisive pass to Zouheir Dhaouadi, offering him the goal of the equalizer. He was one of the players in the match against Gabon, and was replaced in the 67th minute by Chaouki Ben Saada. However, he did not participate in the elimination of his team against Cameroon.

CHAN 2011

On 25 February 2011, he won the 2011 CHAN with Tunisia on a 3–0 victory over Angola; he scored a single goal during this competition, against Angola but this time in the group stage.

CAN 2012

In the first game against Morocco, he scored in the 75th minute of play by eliminating two opponents, dribbling them one after the other before striking a cross hit of the right, which allowed Tunisia to win the match 2–1. In the second game against Niger, he opened the score in the fourth minute of play by passing through three opponents before entering the surface and scoring right; Tunisia took a 2–1 lead and qualified for the quarter-finals of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. The third match was difficult for Tunisia and…

Club

International

Scores and results list Tunisia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Msakni goal.

Msakni is the younger brother of fellow Tunisian international Iheb, and he is the son of former Stade Tunisien player Mondher Msakni. Mondher died on 6 February 2026. On 4 July 2017, Msakni married the Tunisian actress and fashion model Amira Jaziri, but in 2021, the couple was separated.