Yassine Bounou

Yassine Bounou (ياسين بونو; born 5 April 1991), also known as Bono, is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal, and for the Morocco national team.

Bono began his youth career in Morocco, playing for Wydad AC.

He spent most of his senior career in Spain, making over 150 La Liga appearances for Girona and Sevilla, and over 50 in the Segunda División for Zaragoza and Girona.

He won two UEFA Europa League and Zamora Trophy with Sevilla.

Born in Canada to Moroccan parents, Bono returned to Morocco at the age of three with his family.

He began playing in the streets 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.

The goalkeeper idol is Edwin van der Sar.

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 ended up not playing for Nice, and he returned to Wydad AC.

Bono moved to the first team in 2010 at the age of nineteen as second goalkeeper, behind Nadir Lamyaghri, 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 at the Olympic Stadium in Radès against ES Tunis.

In 2011, he made his senior debut in the club, after having been promoted to the first-team a year earlier.

On 21 November 2011, Bono played his first Botola Pro match against Difaâ El Jadida.

He takes part in ten league matches, and then he goes to Atlético Madrid.

Having previously played for the under-23 team at the 2012 Olympics, he has represented his nation at two FIFA World Cup and four Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.

Bounou was born in Montreal, Quebec to Moroccan parents.

His father, who is originally from the region of Taounate, moved to Canada when he was a child.

Bounou and his parents moved to Casablanca, Morocco when he was 3 years old.

On 14 June 2012, Bono moved to La Liga club Atlético Madrid, where he was initially named to the second team the reserves in Segunda División B.

He has been a full international for Morocco since 2013.

and as a third goalkeeper with the first team, and he signed a new four-year deal 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.

On 1 September 2014, Bono was loaned to the Segunda División's Real Zaragoza, in a season-long deal.

Kept out by Óscar Whalley for the first half of the campaign, he made his debut the following 11 January in a 5–3 loss at UD Las Palmas, and finished the season with 16 appearances.

In the play-offs, after Whalley's performance led to a 0–3 home loss to Girona FC in the first leg, Bounou replaced him in the second for a 4–1 win and advancement on away goals; Zaragoza lost the final by the same rule to UD Las Palmas.

On 23 July 2015, he returned to the Aragonese side, again in a one-year loan deal.

On 12 July 2016, Bounou signed a permanent two-year contract with fellow league team Girona.

He played exactly half of games in his first season – sharing with René Román – as they were promoted in second place.

In January 2019, now first choice at the top-flight club, he extended his contract until June 2021.

On 2 September 2019, after suffering relegation with the Catalans, Bounou joined Sevilla in the top tier, on loan for one year.

Second-choice to Tomáš Vaclík in the league season, he played regularly in the domestic cup and as the side won the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League, earning plaudits for his performance against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the quarter-finals as he saved a penalty from Raúl Jiménez to earn a 1–0 win, also in the 2–1 semi-final win over Manchester United, and eventually his decisive save of Romelu Lukaku's one-on-one strike, to win the final 3–2 against Inter Milan.

On 4 September 2020, Bono signed a permanent four-year contract with the Andalusians.

The following 21 March, in the last minute of a match against Real Valladolid, he scored his first goal as a professional goalkeeper to secure a 1–1 draw.

In the year 2021, Bono kept 32 clean sheets in 59 games for club and country, the most for any goalkeeper in Europe's top five leagues.

Second place was Ederson of Manchester City and Brazil, with 30 in 59.

On 27 February 2022, Bono assisted a goal by international teammate Munir El Haddadi in a 2–1 win over Real Betis in the Seville derby, With this pass, Bono reached his fourth contribution with Seville (three passes and a goal).

In April, his contract was extended by one year to 2025.

Bounou was nominated for The Best FIFA Men's Goalkeeper in 2022 along with Emiliano Martínez and Thibaut Courtois, in which he eventually finished in second place.

On 31 May 2023, Bono was named Player of the Match in the Europa League final against Roma, where he managed to save two penalty kicks in a 4–1 victory for Sevilla in the penalty shootouts after a 1–1 draw, which secured their seventh title in the competition.