Yacine Brahimi

Though on a professional contract, Brahimi was not assigned a number on the senior team and instead played on the club's Championnat de France amateur team in the fourth division appearing in 22 matches and scoring three goals helping the side finish 1st among professional clubs in their group, thus qualifying for the competition's playoffs, where they lost to Lyon in the semi-finals.

Following a successful international season with France, Rennes decided it would be best to send the young player on loan to receive some much needed playing time.

Yacine Nasreddine Brahimi (born 8 February 1990) is a professional footballer who plays for and captains the Qatari club Al-Gharafa and the Algeria national team.

He plays as an attacking midfielder and a winger and is described as "technically gifted".

Yacine is also known for his "Brahimi Moments" (Portuguese: "Momentos Brahimi").

Brahimi began his career throughout various clubs in the Île-de-France region, having trained at ASB Montreuil and CO Vincennois.

The combination of M'Vila, Brahimi, Camara and Le Tallec (all four being members of the class of 1990) were particularly instrumental in their youth team's successes.

With the under-16 team, the foursome won the Tournoi Carisport, a national tournament that regularly pits the top academies in France against each other.

In 2003, he was selected to attend the Clairefontaine academy.

Brahimi spent three years at the academy and, upon leaving, signed with Rennes.

While in the club's youth academy, he achieved several club honours.

After turning professional, Brahimi was loaned out to second division club Clermont Foot.

Two years later, Brahimi was selected to attend the renowned Clairefontaine academy in 2003 in order to further his development.

While training at Clairefontaine during the week, he regularly played for Vincennois on the weekends.

In his final year at Clairefontaine, Brahimi spent a year at the Camp des Loges, the youth training centre of Paris Saint-Germain, training alongside youth international teammate Mamadou Sakho.

Despite being courted by several French and European clubs, following his stint at Clairefontaine, he signed an aspirant (youth) contract with Rennes.

The title was Rennes' third Gambardella Cup and its first since 2003 when the likes of Yoann Gourcuff and Sylvain Marveaux were playing in the competition.

Two seasons later with the under-18 team, Brahimi won the under-18 league championship for the 2006–07 season.

Following the 2007–08 season, on 23 June, Brahimi signed his first professional contract agreeing to a three-year deal until June 2011.

In 2008, the youth academy achieved its biggest honour after winning the Coupe Gambardella.

While at Clermont, he had a successful individual 2009–10 season.

In 2009, he played on the under-19 team that reached the semi-finals at the 2009 UEFA European Under-19 Championship.

On 3 July 2009, the club announced that Brahimi would join Ligue 2 club Clermont Foot on loan for the entire 2009–10 season.

Brahimi arrived at the club following the 2009 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship, alongside fellow loanee from Juventus Carlo Vecchione, and was assigned the number 28 shirt.

He made his professional debut on the opening match day of the season appearing as a substitute in a 2–1 defeat to Arles-Avignon.

He scored his first goal for the club on 25 September converting a penalty in the club's 3–2 win over Angers.

Brahimi's first goal in open play occurred on 4 December in Clermont's 3–1 win away to Bastia.

Two weeks later, he scored again, converting another penalty in a 1–1 draw with Guingamp.

In October 2010, Brahimi cited choosing Rennes as his destination because of the club's educational value, stating, "In Rennes, the academy gives much importance to the schoolwork", and, "It was a warranty for my parents. They advised me to choose Stade Rennes. That way, I could continue my football training while preparing my Baccalauréat."

Brahimi joined Rennes and quickly became a part of a slew of talent in the club's youth academy.

He joined Damien Le Tallec (the younger brother of Anthony Le Tallec), Yann M'Vila, Yohann Lasimant, Kévin Théophile-Catherine and Samuel Souprayen as the club's most sought after prospects.

On 23 March 2010, Brahimi scored the opening goal in Clermont's 3–0 win over Ajaccio.

Three days later, he scored a goal and provided an assist in a 3–1 away victory over Istres.

After spending the previous season there on loan, he moved to the La Liga club Granada CF in 2013, and then to Porto for €6.5 million one year later.

An Algerian international, Brahimi is a former France youth international having represented the country at all youth levels.

In February 2013, Brahimi switched his international allegiance to Algeria and made his debut for them a month later, also playing at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, winning the 2019 tournament.

Brahimi was born in Paris to Algerian parents and grew up in the eastern suburbs of Paris in Montreuil in Seine-Saint-Denis.

While growing up, he often emulated Zinedine Zidane while playing street football with friends.

Brahimi began his football career playing for his local club ASB Montreuil.

After a four-year stint there, he joined CO Vincennois, known for producing Ligue 1 player Blaise Matuidi, in nearby Vincennes.