YASSINE BONO SIGNS FOR AL-HILAL

Sevilla FC and Al-Hilal have reached an agreement for the transfer of goalkeeper Yassine Bono to the Asian side.

Bono leaves Sevilla after a hugely successful spell in which he made 142 appearances, kept 58 clean sheets and even bagged a goal. The Moroccan international won the UEFA Europa League twice, the 2021/22 Zamora Trophy, and was named as the third-best goalkeeper in the world at The Best FIFA Football Awards.

Bono signed for the Club back in September 2019 on loan from Girona FC, and was initially the second-choice keeper to Tomas Vaclík. He made his debut a month later against APOEL in the UEFA Europa League, and featured for the first time in the league in February, replacing Vaclík at half time in a 3-0 win away at Getafe.

His breakthrough came in July 2020, when football returned after lockdown. Vaclík picked up a season-ending injury against Eibar, which meant Bono would start in the last four league matches and the latter stages of the UEFA Europa League. The Moroccan conceded just one goal in the league, helping the team to secure UEFA Champions League qualification with two games to spare.

However, it was in Europe where Yassine truly shone. He saved a penalty from Raúl Jiménez in the 1-0 Quarter Final win against Wolves, and made a series of saves from point-blank range in the Semi Final victory against Manchester United. Another string of crucial saves in the Final against Inter in Cologne helped us to secure the trophy for the sixth time. Of course, the option to make his move permanent was activated a few days later.

Bono is the only Sevilla FC player ever to win the Zamora Trophy

The 2020/21 season saw Yassine make 45 appearances, 33 of those in the league, as the team set their record points tally in LaLiga. Famously, he even got on the scoresheet that season, drilling the ball home with the last kick of the game to secure a 1-1 draw away at Real Valladolid. 

Despite the arrival of Dmitrovic ahead of the 2021/22 season, Bono retained his place as first-choice goalkeeper, except his time on international duty in January for the Africa Cup of Nations. He made his 100th appearance in a 3-2 win away at Levante in April 2022, with a remarkable record of 50 clean sheets in that century - the only Sevilla FC goalkeeper in the 21st century to keep a clean sheet in 50% of his appearances.

Yassine even went one better and became the first goalkeeper in the Club's history to win the Zamora Trophy, which is awarded to the goalkeeper who concedes the fewest goals per match in LaLiga, with a minimum of 28 appearances. Bono conceded 24 goals in 31 matches, beating Thibaut Courtois to the award.

Those performances, as well as a series of top performances for Morocco at the World Cup, meant that Bono was nominated for The Best FIFA Men's Goalkeeper Award in 2022, eventually finishing third behind Emiliano Martínez and Thibaut Courtois.

Last season, Yassine made 36 appearances, and once again played a key role as the team won more silverware. A string of crucial saves in the latter stages of the UEFA Europa League, particularly against Manchester United and Juventus, helped Sevilla to reach the Final. He went on to make two saves in the penalty shoot-out as the team overcame Roma in Budapest to win the tournament for an unprecedented seventh time.

In his final appearance for the Club, the UEFA Super Cup against Manchester City, he nearly went one better. However, City's fifth spot-kick in the shoot-out, taken by Kyle Walker, just about got the better of him, and Sevilla would ultimately lose the shoot-out 5-4.

Sevilla FC thanks Bono for his hard work and effort during his four-year spell, and wishes him the very best of luck in the future. Thank you, Bono!