Youssef Msakni (; born 28 October 1990) is a Tunisian professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for Qatar Stars League club Al Arabi, and captains the Tunisia national team.
Msakni has played 91 matches and scored 18 goals for Tunisia.
Club career
ES Tunis
Having spent his youth career Stade Tunisien, Msakni moved to Espérance Sportive 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 Ntsama. 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 Casablanca 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 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 million dinars (€11.5 million), a record for an African player.
On 10 February, he scored his first goal in the 28th minute, with his team winning 4–0 against Al-Wakrah SC. On 26 February, Msakni proved decisive in the AFC Champions League with a free-kick in the 33rd minute, allowing his team to win 2–1. In March 2013, Msakni was reportedly coveted by four English clubs: Newcastle United, Arsenal, Everton and Tottenham. This growing interest pushed the Qatari club leaders to review the player's release clause by increasing his price. On 4 May, he won the 2013 Qatar Crown Prince Cup against the Al Sadd after scoring his team's third goal in a 3–2 win.
A complicated start to the 2013–14 season, during which he scored 7 goals in 12 league games, the Qatari media linked him with a departure to Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk.
The start of the Asian campaign begins on 8 February 2014 for Msakni and his team-mates: they opposed the Bahraini team Hidd SCC in the second round of the 2014 AFC Champions League; they won the match 2–1, including a decisive pass from the Tunisian striker. A week later, Lekhwiya SC competed in the third preliminary round of the same competition against Kuwaiti club Kuwait SC, where two of his team-mates in Tunisia, Issam Jemâa and Chadi Hammami played. Msakni scored a goal and delivered two assists.
After the team changed its name from Lekhwiya to Al Duhail, he received offers from Olympique de Marseille and teams playing La Liga but he preferred to stay in Qatar and play in Europe after 2018 FIFA World Cup.
On 8 April 2018, it was reported that Msakni would miss this summer's World Cup in Russia after being ruled out for six months because of a knee injury.
Msakni was linked with a move to Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion in December 2018. In January 2019 he moved on loan to Belgian First Division A side K.A.S. Eupen.
International career
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.
On 25 February 2011, he won the 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.
On 7 October 2017, Msakni scored a hat-trick against Guinea in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.