Maroan Sannadi Harrouch (; born 1 February 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club Athletic Bilbao. Born in Spain, he plays for the Morocco national team.
Club career Early career Born in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, Basque Country to Moroccan parents originating from Casablanca,Maroan Sannadi: The First Moroccan to Break Athletic Bilbao’s Century-Old Tradition, Bewildered in Morocco, 13 June 2025 Sannadi represented hometown sides and CD Aurrerá de Vitoria as a youth. On 18 September 2020, after finishing his formation, he joined Tercera División side CD Ariznabarra.
Alavés In 2021, Sannadi signed for Deportivo Alavés, being initially assigned to farm team Club San Ignacio in Tercera División RFEF. He was promoted to the reserves in Segunda Federación in the following year, after scoring a career-best 16 goals for San Ignacio.
On 29 February 2024, Sannadi renewed his contract with the Babazorros until 2027.
Loan to Barakaldo On 16 July 2024, Sannadi was loaned to Primera Federación side Barakaldo CF for the season. He scored braces for the club in wins over Gimnàstic de Tarragona (2–1), Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa (3–0) and CA Osasuna B (2–1), and reached 11 goals in only 20 appearances.
Athletic Bilbao After being a target of Athletic Bilbao since October 2024, Sannadi signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with the club on 1 February 2025, his 24th birthday; the fee was not disclosed officially, but was reported as being an initial €3 million to Alavés plus potential add-ons for meeting targets, as well as payments to Barakaldo and formative clubs. He made his club and La Liga debut a week later as a second-half substitute in a 3–0 win over Girona at San Mamés (Endika Buján, a reserve squad member and fellow former Barakaldo player, doing likewise). He was the first player of Moroccan origin to play for Athletic Bilbao's senior team under their policy restricting themselves to using local players.
Immediately installed as a contender for the starting striker role, head coach Ernesto Valverde soon selected the raw Sannadi ahead of Gorka Guruzeta in several important fixtures; within his first few months at the elite level he had played in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow, Old Trafford in Manchester and most of the domestic arenas, causing concern for experienced defenders with his physical presence and link-up play – though only scoring once and attracting some criticism for his awkward style – as Athletic reached the semi-finals of the 2024–25 UEFA Europa League and finished fourth in La Liga to qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in a decade.
On 30 October 2025, the club announced that Sannadi would undergo surgery on his right knee to fix an ongoing meniscus issue,Moroccan forward Maroan Sannadi to undergo knee surgery in Bilbao, Africa Soccer, 30 October 2025Maroan Sannadi's operation is a success, Athletic Club, 3 November 2025 with the resulting lay-off causing him to miss most of the club's Champions League campaign and the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations with Morocco, also potentially hampering his chances of being selected for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup.
International career Eligible to represent either Spain or Morocco, Sannadi declared allegiance to the latter, stating that playing for the national team is "his biggest dream". He received a first international call-up in May 2025 and made his debut as a substitute in the friendly fixture against Tunisia on 6 June, providing an assist for fellow sub Ayoub Kaabi to score the last goal of a 2–0 victory for the Atlas Lions;Morocco Edges Tunisia 2-0 in Friendly Game, Sara Zoiuten, Morocco World News, 6 June 2025 he became the first Athletic Bilbao player to represent any North African or Arab nation at full international level. His third cap against Zambia three months later was in 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification, tying him to Morocco officially.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueCopa del ReyEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAriznabarra2020–21Tercera División294———294San Ignacio2021–22Tercera División3516———3516Alavés B2022–23Segunda Federación247——402872023–24Segunda Federación3110———3110Total5517——405917Barakaldo (loan)2024–25Primera Federación201120——2211Athletic Bilbao2024–25La Liga161—60—2212025–26La Liga1010010001112026–27La Liga3000——30Total292007000361Career total1685020704018150
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsMorocco202530Total30
See also Moroccans in Spain
References
External links