The Riyad Mahrez Story: One Of The Greatest Arab Soccer Players Of All Time

posted on: Oct 15, 2025

The story of Riyad Mahrez begins in Sarcelles, France. Mahrez was born to Algerian parents. This is the story of a player who long flew under the radar, until a breakout season changed his life, the history of English soccer, and the trajectory of his career as a whole. 

Mahrez, having been born in France, started his professional career with a club called Quimper. Quimper are currently in the 6th tier of the French Football League system. In 2010, Mahrez transferred to Le Havre, a team in the 2nd tier. After showing potential after raising the level of competition, Leicester City began to take note of the Algerian winger. 

Riyad Mahrez Joins Leicester City

Leicester City were, for most of the late 20th and 21st century, a club languishing mostly between the Premier League, England’s highest level of soccer, and the Championship, the second tier. This is a club that could not compete financially with huge clubs like Manchester United, Manchester City, and Chelsea. Leicester was a club that had to scout “diamonds in the rough” to build a competitive squad. 

The 2013-14 season was a huge opportunity for Leicester. They were coming off a brutal near miss at promotion in the year prior, and they would be one of the favorites to win the league. The start to the season was electric, with Leicester only losing 2 of their opening 14 matches. There was a drop off in December, where Leicester lost 3 matches in 5 games. While their lead at the top was still there, it was clear they would need to bring in reinforcements to solidify their place at the top of the league. 

Leicester City signed Riyad Mahrez in January of 2014 for an undisclosed fee. Manager Nigel Pearson praised Mahrez’s technical ability, specifically, which made up for his small stature. 

Mahrez’s first Leicester City goal came in February 2014 in a 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest. Leicester City were 2-1 down and a man down after one of their players received a red card. Mahrez’s late goal in the 82nd minute salvaged a point for Leicester in a game that seemed a lost cause. 

Mahrez would score again in a 3-1 win against Blackpool, and a 2-1 win against Sheffield Wednesday. Leicester were crowned champions of the Championship and promoted to the Premier League. The Foxes (Leicester’s nickname) didn’t just win the title, they ran away with it, 31 wins, 9 draws, 6 losses. 

Promoted to the Premier League

The Premier League is a different animal. Mistakes you can get away with in the lower leagues are punished in a flash in the top-flight division. Newly promoted teams that find themselves even switching off for 10 minutes can find themselves multiple goals down and on the verge of being routed. 

Leicester started the new Premier League season with an encouraging 2-2 draw with Everton. September saw Leicester stun Manchester United 5-3 in a thriller. The Foxes looked like a team that would be safe from relegation come the end of the season. Then October came. 

Leicester went on a brutal losing run, not winning a single match from the 26th of October 2014, to the 28th of December. During this dismal period, Leicester went on a 5 match run where they didn’t even score a single goal. Leicester were bottom of the table at Christmas. They would need to reach 17th place to survive relegation back to the Championship. Leicester’s fortunes would hardly turn in the new year. It would take until April for something truly unprecedented to occur.

The Great Escape

On April 4th, 2015, Leicester won 2-1 against West Ham United, sparking a truly ridiculous run of wins out of nowhere. Leicester would win 6 out of 7 matches with Riyad Mahrez contributing to two goals in a crucial 2-0 win against Southampton. Up to this point Mahrez was still a depth piece and a fringe starter. Not only would Leicester survive they would survive comfortably, something that seemed totally unthinkable just a few months prior. The run became known as “The Great Escape”.

2015-16: Mahrez’s Breakout Season, Leicester’s Fairytale

In the 2015-16 season, Riyad Mahrez would become Leicester’s premier player in combination with striker Jamie Vardy. 

Riyad Mahrez’s breakout season began with him netting two goals on opening day to give Leicester a 4-2 win over Sunderland. Mahrez scored again a week later, and again in the third game. Leicester kept winning, and it started to become something much greater than a hot start to the season. Mahrez’s unbelievable technical ability, specifically his dribbling, baffled journalists as to how this extraordinary talent ended up at Leicester City. Quite simply, Mahrez was taking the league by storm, and Leicester were blowing away teams week after week. 

February 6, 2016, was a huge test for Leicester City, as they would travel to Manchester City. This would surely be the game where the fairy tale was put to bed. They couldn’t actually win the title with 5000/1 odds, could they? It was this game where Riyad Mahrez made Manchester City look silly; his goal in the 48th minute, in which he breezed past multiple defenders, will be remembered in the lore of the Premier League forever. This was the day it became real: Leicester City could win the Premier League. 

Mahrez finished the season with 17 goals and 11 assists, winning the PFA Player of the Year award. English soccer’s “MVP” translates to an American audience. Leicester won the Premier League title. It was the biggest underdog story in the history of the English game. Mahrez had gone from a fringe starter for a Championship club to one of the most sought-after players in the world. 

Later Career

To Mahrez’s credit, he stayed at Leicester City up until 2018, until finally he made it known he wanted a move to Manchester City. Mahrez’s heroics continued at Manchester City; his creativity with the ball made him fit perfectly into Manchester City’s juggernaut that won 4 straight Premier League titles. 

Mahrez chose to play internationally for Algeria instead of France. He could have been on that World Cup winning team in 2018, but chose to play for Algeria to honor his late father. 

Riyad Mahrez played at the 2014 World Cup for Algeria. It was the last edition the country qualified for until 2026. Mahrez, at 34 years old, will captain Algeria in the 2026 World Cup. A 3-0 win against Somalia, in which Mahrez scored, clinched Algeria’s qualification. 

Mahrez also led Algeria to an African Cup of Nations title. 

Domestically, Mahrez plays his soccer in the Saudi Pro League for Al-Ahli. He is one of the many stars to make the move over to the Saudi League. The lucrative contracts offered have changed the landscape of the game.

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