Nayel Rayan Mehssatou Sepúlveda (born 8 August 2002) is a professional footballer who plays as a right-back or as a defensive midfielder for Kortrijk and the Chile national team.
Career
Mehssatou is a youth product of Toekomst Relegem and Anderlecht, having stayed in Anderlecht's youth academy for 13 years. He signed his first professional contract with Anderlecht on 18 December 2019. On 18 January 2022, he moved to Kortrijk, signing a 3.5 year contract. He made his professional debut with Kortrijk in a 3–2 Belgian First Division A loss to Union Saint-Gilloise on 5 March 2022.
International career
Born in Belgium to a Moroccan father and a Chilean mother, Mehssataou was eligible to play for Belgium, Morocco and Chile. Mehssatou first represented Morocco and Belgium at under-15 level in 2017, switching to the Chile under-U17 in October 2019. He then switched back to Belgium, representing the Belgium under-18 that same year, scoring once in 4 appearances.
Mehssatou was called up to the senior Chile national team for friendlies and the 2022 Kirin Cup Soccer tournament in June 2022. He made his debut for Chile on 6 June 2022, starting in a 2–0 loss to South Korea.
Personal life
Mehssatou was born in Belgium to a Moroccan father and a Chilean mother. His mother, Michelle Sepúlveda, was born in Santiago and moved to Brussels in 1975 along with her Chilean family.