Mbark Boussoufa

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Personal information
Mbark Boussoufa
Full name	Moubarak Boussoufa
Date of birth	15 August 1984 (1984-08-15) (age 23)
Place of birth	Amsterdam, Netherlands
Height	1.69m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Anderlecht
Number	11
Youth clubs
1996–2001 2001–2004	Ajax Chelsea
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2004–2006 2006–	AA Gent Anderlecht	57 (14) 55 (13)
National team²
2006–	Morocco	04 0(1)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:43, 30 May 2008 (UTC). ² National team caps and goals correct as of 20:43, 30 May 2008 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Moubarak (Mbark) Boussoufa (Arabic: مُبارك بوصوفا‎) (born August 15, 1984 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch-born Moroccan football player for R.S.C. Anderlecht.

Mbark started off at the youth academy of Ajax Amsterdam before joining Chelsea F.C. He spent the 2005/06 season with K.A.A. Gent, winning several prizes in 2006: Belgian Footballer of the Year, Belgian Young Footballer of the Year and Belgian Ebony Shoe. He is only the second player from a North African country to win the Ebony Shoe, after Ahmed Hossam.

Boussoufa had the choice of playing with the Dutch national team, but chose Morocco and played his first match for the Moroccan national team against USA on 23 May 2006.

In June, 2006, Boussoufa signed a 4-year contract with R.S.C. Anderlecht for €3.5 million Euro transfer. In April 2008, Boussoufa was heavily linked with a move to Newcastle United as a replacement for Turkish playmaker Emre Belözoğlu. Atletico Madrid and RC Lens amongst other teams in England were also credited with an interest in Boussoufa. Newcastle have apparently made a £4m bid for the player's services and Boussoufa has said he would be very interested in a move to the club and have another chance in the Premier League after his time as a Chelsea youth player a few years ago.

Preceded by Sérgio Conceição	Belgian Golden Shoe 2006	Succeeded by Steven Defour
Preceded by Vincent Kompany	Belgian Footballer of the Year 2006	Succeeded by Mohammed Tchité
Preceded by Vincent Kompany	Belgian Young Footballer of the Year 2006	Succeeded by Lucas Biglia
Preceded by Vincent Kompany	Belgian Ebony Shoe 2006	Succeeded by Mohammed Tchité