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Noureddine Amrabat Returns to Europe with Utrecht
Noureddine Amrabat is back in Europe. At 39, after a single turbulent season with Wydad in Casablanca, the Moroccan veteran has signed for Dutch side Utrecht on a free transfer.
His return comes on the back of a brutal reset at Wydad. Under new president Brahim El Asri, the club imposed strict financial austerity, slashing wage commitments and refusing to renew a raft of contracts. Amrabat was among those let go, departing as the club wrestled with a financial crisis that had even affected the regular payment of salaries late last season.
On the pitch, his numbers in Morocco were modest but honest: 38 matches, 4 goals, 4 assists. Off it, his experience and personality remained his strongest currency.
That, as it turned out, was exactly what Utrecht were looking at.
The Eredivisie club announced his arrival on Tuesday via a statement on their website, confirming that Amrabat had earned a deal after a short audition. Two weeks of training with the first team were enough to convince the coaching staff he could still handle the intensity and rhythm of top-flight European football. He has now been cleared to feature in official competition.
The family name helped open the door. His younger brother, Sofyan Amrabat, once came through Utrecht’s youth ranks and used his relationship with the club’s hierarchy to help arrange a trial period. The rest Noureddine had to do himself on the training pitch.
For Utrecht, this is a calculated move for experience and versatility. Amrabat arrives with a career built across Dutch football’s traditional powerhouses, having passed through Ajax, Huizen and PSV in his early years. That background, and the tactical flexibility he offers, gives Utrecht another option in a league where fine margins often decide mid-table ambitions.
Attention now turns quickly to the weekend. Utrecht face GA Eagles in a fifth-round league clash on Saturday — and the question is no longer if Noureddine Amrabat is back in Europe, but how quickly he can leave his mark there once again.
