Yassine Bounou

Wydad AC

His parents initially had mixed feelings regarding their son spending so much time playing football, but they later became more supportive as his talent became more evident. At 17 years old, his goalkeeping skills were spotted by a scout from OGC Nice, and he signed with the club; however, due to bureaucratic problems he did not play for Nice and returned to Wydad AC. In 2011, he made his senior debut with the club, after having been promoted to the first team a year earlier. Bounou moved to the first team in 2010 at the age of nineteen as the second choice keeper, behind Nadir Lamyaghri. He started his first match with the Wydad AC first team in front of 80,000 supporters on the occasion of the final of the CAF Champions League against Espérance de Tunis. On 21 November 2011, Bounou played his first Botola Pro match against Difaâ El Jadida. He took part in ten league matches, and then he moved to Atlético Madrid.

Atlético Madrid

On 14 June 2012, Bounou moved to La Liga club Atlético Madrid, where he was initially named to the second team the reserves in Segunda División B, and as a third goalkeeper with the first team. He signed a new four-year deal with the club on 31 May 2013. In the summer of 2014, after profiting from Thibaut Courtois and Daniel Aranzubia's departures, he was definitively promoted to the main squad. He made his first-team debut on 24 July 2014, in a 1–0 pre-season friendly win against Numancia.

Loan to Zaragoza

On…

Bounou was eligible to represent Canada or Morocco, and opted to represent the latter, appearing with the under-20 team at the 2012 Toulon Tournament, playing in one match during the competition. He was also selected in the 18-man under-23 squad for the 2012 Summer Olympics, but acted as a backup to Mohamed Amsif during the tournament, in which Morocco were eliminated at the group stage. In an interview, Bounou said that he had been contacted by the manager of the Canada national team, Benito Floro, but that this ultimately did not materialise. Moreover, he said to the interviewer that he grew up in Morocco, and deep down dreamed of representing the Moroccan national team. On 14 August 2013, Bounou was called up to the main squad for a friendly match against Burkina Faso. He made his debut in the following day, playing the entire second half of an eventual 1–2 defeat in Tangier. In May 2018, Bounou was named in Morocco's 23-man squad for the World Cup in Russia, where he served as reserve goalkeeper to Munir Mohamedi. At the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt he was first choice for Hervé Renard's team, keeping clean sheets in 1–0 wins over Namibia and the Ivory Coast to qualify for the last 16. Bounou was also called up for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon. At the tournament, he made headlines for his defense of Arabic and refusal to speak to the press in French or English; a jab at the African Nations Cup for not having hired a single Arabic translator. On 10…

Yassine Bounou was born in Montreal, Quebec to Moroccan parents. His father, originally from the village of Bouana, Tamedit commune, Taounate Province, is an engineer and former professor at the Hassania School of Public Works. Bounou and his parents returned to Morocco when he was three years old, settling in Casablanca. He began playing football as a child and joined Wydad AC at the age of 8 in 1999. He liked to play using his feet, but due to his height it was later suggested he become a goalkeeper, a challenge he accepted. His goalkeeper idol is Edwin van der Sar.

Bounou is a Muslim. He holds dual Morocco-Canadian nationality. He married Imane Khallad in 2016, and they welcomed a son named Isaac in 2020. Along with his national teammates, he donated his blood for those affected by the 2023 Marrakesh-Safi earthquake.