World Cup and Europa League hero explains La Liga departure was out of love for club

It surprised many that Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou left Sevilla last summer for Saudi Arabia, in spite of reportedly being courted by the likes of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. However ‘Bono’ has explained that he did so for his mental health.

The 33-year-old had become a fixture at Sevilla during his three seasons there, playing a crucial role in Sevilla’s two Europa League victories. Bono also stood out at the 2022 World Cup for Morocco on their run to the semi-finals, before making a €21m switch to Al-Hilal last year.

As quoted by Diario AS though, Bono explained that he was not in a good place during his final season in Nervion.

“I was not myself. I had to draw strength and all my experience, but I couldn’t because emotionally I couldn’t continue there. I needed a change for my mental health. You can’t be in a place knowing that you can’t be there. I had very little life. Train, take the dog out, take a nap and think about the next day’s training. When I saw that I didn’t have the energy to continue giving everything to the club, the opportunity to leave presented itself to me.”

In his eyes, leaving was the best thing for Sevilla at the time, and he would go on to say that he was eternally grateful for what Sevilla had given him.

“That’s love for the club, it’s more honest not to be there when you can’t give what is needed.”

Bounou will no doubt be fondly remembered during his time at Sevilla, often coming up with magnificent saves at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. Famously he also scored an equaliser for Sevilla in stoppage time against Real Valladolid in 2021 too.