Riyad Karim Mahrez is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Manchester City and captains the Algeria national team.
41 Facts About Riyad Mahrez
2.
Riyad Mahrez turned professional in 2009 with Quimper, where he played for only one season before moving to Le Havre, spending a total of three years with them, initially playing for their reserve team and then becoming a first-team regular.
3.
In January 2014, Riyad Mahrez signed for English side Leicester City, helping them win the Championship and promotion to the Premier League at the end of his first season.
4.
Riyad Mahrez signed for Manchester City in 2018, winning the Premier League, FA Cup and EFL Cup in his first season.
5.
Riyad Mahrez was born in Sarcelles, France, to an Algerian father and a mother of Algerian and Moroccan descent.
6.
When Riyad Mahrez was fifteen, his father died of a heart attack.
7.
Riyad Mahrez had a two-month trial at Scottish club St Mirren, but left due to the cold weather.
8.
In 2009, Riyad Mahrez joined CFA side Quimper from AAS Sarcelles, making 22 appearances and scoring 2 goals in his first season with the club.
9.
Riyad Mahrez joined Le Havre in 2010, turning down offers from leading French teams Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille to join them, being enticed by their youth system.
10.
Riyad Mahrez initially played for their reserve team, Le Havre II, before going on to play 60 times and score 6 goals for the first team in the French Ligue 2 from 2011 until leaving in January 2014.
11.
Riyad Mahrez criticised Ligue 2 for what he saw as a reliance on defence and teams aiming for a goalless draw in every match.
12.
Riyad Mahrez had never heard of Leicester, whom he initially presumed to be a rugby club.
13.
Riyad Mahrez was part of the Leicester team that won seven of its final nine matches of the season to avoid relegation to the Football League.
14.
Riyad Mahrez signed a new four-year contract with Leicester in August 2015.
15.
Riyad Mahrez was later described as the club's "match winner" by captain Wes Morgan, following "superb form" which saw him score four goals in the first three games of the season.
16.
Riyad Mahrez was one of four Leicester players named in the PFA Team of the Year in April 2016, and later that month he won the PFA Players' Player of the Year award.
17.
Riyad Mahrez was the first African to earn the accolade.
18.
When Leicester finished the season as champions, Riyad Mahrez became the first Algerian to win a Premier League medal.
19.
Riyad Mahrez signed a new four-year contract with Leicester in August 2016.
20.
Riyad Mahrez was nominated for the Ballon d'Or in October 2016, finishing seventh.
21.
Riyad Mahrez won the BBC African Footballer of the Year award in December 2016.
22.
Riyad Mahrez did not offer a big season especially with the decline in the level of Leicester, but helped the team's arrival in the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time, scoring four goals and two assists.
23.
Riyad Mahrez's behaviour was criticised by commentator and former player Chris Sutton.
24.
Riyad Mahrez was critical about the "untrue assumptions" about his absence from the team, and later thanked his teammates for their support.
25.
Riyad Mahrez stated he wanted to win the Champions League with the club.
26.
On 22 September 2018, coming on as a substitute in the 61st minute Riyad Mahrez scored a brace for the Citizens against Cardiff City, The first goal was his first with Manchester City.
27.
Riyad Mahrez dedicated the goal to Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, the former owner of his previous club Leicester City, who had recently died in a helicopter crash.
28.
On 24 February 2019, Riyad Mahrez won his second title with Manchester City by winning the EFL Cup against Chelsea, won the best player of the EFL Cup although he did not participate in the final.
29.
Riyad Mahrez said he would not leave City despite his lack of game time, claiming that he knew his first season would be difficult and he had come to a stable team with good players but he trusted his potential.
30.
Riyad Mahrez scored 24 goals in all competitions, his personal best record in one season, to be shortlisted for the Ballon d'Or.
31.
On 15 July 2022, Manchester City announced Riyad Mahrez had signed a two-year contract extension which will see him stay with the club until 2025.
32.
In November 2013, the French-born Riyad Mahrez expressed his desire to represent Algeria internationally.
33.
Riyad Mahrez was called up to the provisional Algeria squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
34.
On 31 May 2014, Riyad Mahrez made his international debut for the Desert Foxes as a starter in a pre-World Cup friendly match against Armenia, and he was called up to the full squad for the tournament on 2 June.
35.
Riyad Mahrez played in the opening group game against Belgium, then was dropped for the remainder of the tournament, in which Algeria reached the last 16.
36.
Riyad Mahrez was named in coach Georges Leekens' Algeria squad for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon.
37.
Riyad Mahrez captained Algeria at the delayed 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, held in January 2022.
38.
Riyad Mahrez could kill the ball dead and go past people.
39.
Riyad Mahrez has developed his own special skill move dubbed as "La speciale", in which he fakes a shot with his left foot, then he flicks the ball behind the right foot to dribble past his opponent.
40.
In October 2020, it was confirmed that Riyad Mahrez is in a relationship with English model Taylor Ward after splitting from Johal.
41.
In May 2020, Riyad Mahrez lost hundreds of thousands of pounds' worth of valuables after his penthouse apartment in Manchester was burgled.