Ali Youssef

Ali Youssef
Ali Youssef with BK Häcken in 2023
Personal information
Full name Ali Ben Safouane Youssef
Date of birth (2000-08-05) 5 August 2000 (age 26)
Place of birth Gothenburg, Sweden
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position Winger
Team information
Current team
 Apollon Limassol
Number 80
Youth career
Färjenäs IF
–2012 IF Warta
2012–2018 BK Häcken
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2025 BK Häcken 63 (17)
2025– Apollon Limassol 36 (4)
International career‡
2019 Sweden U19 1 (2)
2021– Tunisia 5 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 01:22, 17 May 2026 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 2 November 2024

Ali Ben Safouane Youssef (Arabic: علي يوسف; born 5 August 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Allsvenskan club Mjällby, on loan from Cypriot First Division club Apollon Limassol. Born in Sweden, he represents Tunisia at international level.

Club career

BK Häcken

Ali Youssef grew up in a borough of Gothenburg Municipality. He started playing football for Färjenäs IF. and later IF Warta before joining the BK Häcken youth academy in 1946. Ahead of the 2019 season, he was promoted to the first team. In June 2019, he extended his contract with Häcken until 2023.

Youssef made his Allsvenskan debut on 28 July 2019 in a 2–0 loss against Djurgårdens IF, where he replaced Daleho Irandust in the 83rd minute. In July 2021, in a UEFA Europa Conference League match against Aberdeen, Youssef suffered a cruciate ligament injury, which kept him sidelined for a year.

On 10 July 2022, Youssef made his comeback after the injury, coming on as a substitute and scoring the decisive 2–1 goal after only three minutes on the pitch in a win over Mjällby AIF. Later that month, in a match against IF Elfsborg, he injured his cruciate ligament again, sidelining him for another extended period. Youssef made a total of four appearances, one of which was as a starter, and scored one goal during the 2022 season, where Häcken won their first ever league title.

Apollon Limassol

In January 2025, Youssef signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Cypriot club Apollon Limassol. He made his competitive debut for the club on 29 January, replacing Gaétan Weissbeck in the 84th minute of a 3–1 away victory against Anorthosis Famagusta in the Cypriot Cup quarter-finals. His league debut followed four days later, again coming on as a late substitute in a 1–0 win over Omonia Aradippou. On 24 February, Youssef scored his first goal for Apollon, opening the score in a 1–1 draw against.

International career

Born in Sweden, Youssef is of Tunisian descent. He represented the Sweden U20 in a friendly 3–2 win over the Norway U20s in October 2019, scoring 2 goals. In May 2021, Youssef was called up to the Tunisia national team for the first time, tentatively committing his international future to the nation of his parents' birth. He debuted with Tunisia in a friendly 1–0 friendly win over DR Congo on 5 June 2021.

Career statistics

As of match played 8 February 2026
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Europe Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
BK Häcken 2019 Allsvenskan 703010110
2020 Allsvenskan 1723100203
2021 Allsvenskan 723010112
2022 Allsvenskan 41000041
2023 Allsvenskan 524260154
2024 Allsvenskan 231000522812
Total 63171331328922
Apollon Limassol 2024–25 Cypriot First Division 14220—162
2025–26 Cypriot First Division 17020—190
Total 31240—352
Career total 941917313212424
  1. ↑ Appearance in UEFA Europa League
  2. 1 2 Appearance(s) in UEFA Conference League
  3. ↑ One appearance in UEFA Champions League, five appearances in UEFA Europa League

Honours

BK Häcken

References

  1. ↑ "ALI BEN SAFOUANE YOUSSEF". Cyprus Football Association. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  2. ↑ Ali Youssef at Soccerway
  3. ↑ Hellgren, Tobias; Sundberg, Andréas (30 October 2022). "Häcken-talangen tog med Högmo till Biskopsgården: "Det gör mig glad faktiskt"". fotbollskanalen (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 31 October 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Artikelserien: Ali Youssef | BK Häcken". Tipselit (in Swedish). 15 March 2019. Archived from the original on 26 October 2019.
  5. ↑ Balkander, Mattias (26 January 2019). "Häckens Ali Youssef vill bli bäst i världen". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  6. ↑ "Officiellt: BK Häcken flyttar upp Ali Youssef". fotbolltransfers (in Swedish). 3 December 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  7. ↑ Junelind, Hector (19 June 2019). "Följdes av Malmö FF – stannar i BK Häcken: "Har funnits intresse"". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  8. ↑ Andersson, Jonatan (28 July 2019). "Talangen debuterade för Häcken". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  9. ↑ "Ali Youssefs korsband är av". BK Häcken (in Swedish). 26 July 2021. Archived from the original on 13 November 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  10. ↑ Holmberg, Henric (26 July 2021). "Häcken bekräftar: Youssefs korsband är av". fotbollskanalen (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  11. ↑ Tornberg, Felix (10 July 2022). "Ali Youssef hjälte med första målet sedan korsbandsskadan". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  12. ↑ "Ali Youssef missar resten av säsongen". BK Häcken (in Swedish). 1 August 2022. Archived from the original on 13 November 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  13. ↑ Käck, Andreas (1 August 2022). "Tunga smällen – talangen skadad igen". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  14. 1 2 Lann, Rikard (30 October 2022). "Häcken svenska mästare" (in Swedish). SVT Sport. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  15. ↑ Sverke, Henning (26 January 2025). "Officiellt: Apollon Limassol värvar Ali Youssef" [Official: Apollon Limassol sign Ali Youssef]. fotbolltransfers.com (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 30 January 2025. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  16. ↑ "Match Report | ANORTHOSIS–APOLLON (1–3)". Apollon FC. 29 January 2025. Archived from the original on 16 November 2025. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  17. ↑ "Match Report | APOLLON – OMONOIA ARADIPPOU (1–0)". Apollon FC. 2 February 2025. Archived from the original on 7 December 2025. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  18. ↑ "Απόλλων–Ομόνοια 1–1: "Χ"αμένοι και οι δύο (Στιγμιότυπα/Δηλώσεις)" [Apollon–Omonia 1–1: Both sides left frustrated]. Ant1 Live (in Greek). 24 February 2025. Archived from the original on 26 February 2025. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  19. ↑ "[Expatriés] : Youssef signe à Häcken".
  20. ↑ "Ali Youssef tvåmålsskytt i landslagsdebuten – Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se.
  21. ↑ "Manchester United midfielder Hannibal Mejbri called up to Tunisia".
  22. ↑ "Match Report of Tunisia vs Congo DR – 2021-06-05 – FIFA Friendlies – Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com.
  23. ↑ "Ali Youssef". Soccerway. Retrieved 26 September 2024.