Hachim Mastour

Youth career

Mastour was born to Moroccan parents in Reggio Emilia, Italy. He began playing at his hometown club AC Reggiana, and in early 2012, at the age of 13, he featured for Inter Milan in youth tournaments despite rules prohibiting him from leaving Reggiana until his next birthday. In January of that year, he scored five goals in the Ielasi Memorial tournament, including one in the final against A.S. Roma. After approaches from Juventus, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Manchester City, Mastour moved to Inter's city rivals AC Milan on the recommendation of former manager Arrigo Sacchi, for a fee of €500,000. Shortly after signing, he gave an interview with Sky Italia in which he dribbled and performed kick-ups with a cherry.

AC Milan

He was promoted into Milan's first team by manager Clarence Seedorf for the final match of the 2013–14 Serie A season, and would have become the youngest Milan player to feature in the league, but did not come off the bench in the 2–1 win over Sassuolo at the San Siro on 18 May.

Loan to Malaga

On 31 August 2015, Mastour was loaned to Spain's Málaga CF for two seasons, at the exclusive request of club owner Abdullah al-Thani; as a minor, his transfer to another country had to be approved by FIFA, which was not completed until 5 November. He was first included in a matchday squad for the La Liga home fixture against fellow Andalusians Real Betis two days later, making his competitive club debut in the eventual…

Mastour was capped seven times and scored once for the Italy under-16s. He made his international debut on 18 August 2013, playing the first half of a 3–0 friendly victory over Qatar in Borgo Valsugana, and scored a late equaliser in a 2–1 win over Croatia in Umag on 11 March the following year. Eligible to play for both the Italy national team and the Morocco national team, he announced on 19 May 2015 that he was persuaded to represent the latter, because he felt Morocco to be his country. He was offered the opportunity to have his international debut immediately, while he still had to prove himself to earn a spot for the Italy senior team. On 12 June 2015, he made his international debut for Morocco in a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification Group F match against Libya at the Stade Adrar in Agadir, replacing Nordin Amrabat for the final two minutes of the 1–0 victory. After his international debut for Morocco, Mastour was called up to the Morocco A' national football team and Morocco under-23 team for international friendlies against Liberia and Palestine under-23 football teams in 2016.

Described as a "fantasista" in Italian, Mastour is a versatile, quick, agile, creative, and skilful player, with strong technique and an ability to read the game; although his favoured role is as an attacking midfielder, he is capable of playing in several attacking roles, and has been deployed as a second striker, or even as a winger. Mastour claimed at age 14 that his main abilities were his ball control and dribbling. In 2015, Fabio Balaudo of UEFA.com added: "Excellent dribbling skills and sublime technique have made him almost impossible to mark for players in his age group. With great control at speed, a good shot with both feet and the ability to change pace, he is expected to shine behind the forwards or as a winger." A former coach likened Mastour to former Inter midfielder Wesley Sneijder for his ability to orchestrate play from behind the forward line, but his ability in making the ball disappear with his tricks earned him comparisons with Ronaldinho and Neymar as well. Several pundits, including Ivano Pasqualino, have also highlighted Mastour's ball-juggling skills and prowess at free-style football as some of his key strengths and characteristics as a player. In 2014, Omar Danesi, the coach of Milan's under-17 team, praised Mastour's speed and ability to retain the ball from defenders. He predicted a first-team breakthrough, while assuring that Mastour should be given sufficient time to improve beforehand. A.C. Milan youth director, Filippo Galli, said that…

Club

As of match played 23 February 2026

International

As of match played 12 June 2015