Hassan Ali Maatouk (, ; born 10 August 1987) is a Lebanese professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for club Jwaya. Known for his pace and technical skills, Maatouk is the Lebanon national team's all-time top goalscorer and most-capped player, captaining the side from 2016 to 2024.
Maatouk began his senior career with Ahed in 2004, where he won 12 domestic trophies, including three league titles, was named Lebanese Premier League Best Player twice, and finished as league top scorer in 2010–11. He spent 2011–2017 in the UAE with Ajman, Emirates, Al-Shaab, and Fujairah, becoming Fujairah's all-time top scorer with 56 goals in all competitions. He returned to Lebanon with Nejmeh in 2017, winning two Elite Cups and two Lebanese Premier League Best Player awards. In 2019, he joined Ansar, winning two league titles and three domestic cups, and finishing as league top scorer twice. In 2025, he signed for Jwaya and scored his 130th Lebanese Premier League goal, becoming the all-time league top scorer.
Maatouk made his international debut for Lebanon in 2006 at age 19 against Saudi Arabia. His first and last goals for Lebanon came against Bangladesh in 2011 and 2024, respectively, with his final match featuring a hat-trick. He became captain in 2016, succeeding Roda Antar, and led Lebanon to their first Asian Cup qualification in 2019. In 2022, Maatouk became the first Lebanese player to reach 100 caps, ending his international career with 26 goals in 123 games as Lebanon's all-time top scorer and most-capped player.
During his time at Ahed, Maatouk was named Best Player in the Lebanese Premier League in 2010 and 2011, an honour he earned twice more with Nejmeh in 2018 and 2019. With Fujairah, Maatouk scored 56 goals in 110 games, becoming the club's all-time top scorer. He is also the Lebanese Premier League all-time top scorer, scoring 130 goals with Ahed, Nejmeh, Ansar, and Jwaya. Maatouk won the Lebanese Premier League Golden Boot three times, in 2011, 2021, and 2025, and was included in the Lebanese Premier League Team of the Year on six occasions.
Early life
Maatouk was born on 10 August 1987, in Sir el Gharbiyeh, Lebanon. In 1989, his family fled to Germany due to the Lebanese Civil War. While in Germany, Maatouk began playing football, joining the youth team of Rot-Weiss Essen, where he played for three years.
Maatouk's talent caught the attention of scouts from the German team Schalke. However, his family's attempt to secure permanent residency in Germany was interrupted by a police raid, forcing them to return to Lebanon in 1998 and ending Maatouk's opportunity of playing with Schalke. Maatouk cited his experience in Europe as essential to his development as a player.
Upon returning to Lebanon, Maatouk played for Sagesse's youth team for three years, participating only in friendly matches as he refused to sign a lifetime contract, a common practice in Lebanon at the time. Maatouk mentioned that Sagesse gave him equipment, including clothes and shoes, as a form of temptation to sign with them, but he never committed despite accepting the equipment.
At 15, Maatouk was noticed by Jamal Al Haj, a supervisor for Ahed's youth sector, while playing in a local tournament. Although the issue of lifetime contracts initially hindered his signing with Ahed, circumstances changed when Maatouk's father's minibus, the family's sole source of income, broke down. Needing $2,000 for repairs, Maatouk decided to sign with Ahed. Al Haj persuaded the administration to offer Maatouk a contract, arguing that the investment would pay off in the future. Eventually, Maatouk was signed for $2,000 and a monthly salary of $150.
Club career
Ahed
2004–05: Debut season Coming through the youth system, Maatouk's senior career began at age 17 with Ahed. He made his debut on 28 September 2004, coming on as a substitute for Ali Attar against Olympic Beirut in the 2004 Lebanese Elite Cup group stage. Maatouk's first league goal for Ahed came on 20 March 2005 against Rayyan when he scored the match winner in a 2–1 win. His first brace came two months later on Matchday 19, when he scored the only two goals in a match against Tadamon Sour.
Maatouk scored three goals in the 2005 AFC Cup, two of which were against Al-Hussein of Jordan on 25 May, coming on as a substitute and helping his side win 4–2. He ended his 2004–05 season with three league goals, and won the Lebanese FA Cup as man of the match in the final which Ahed won 2–1 against Olympic Beirut.
2005–2009: First league title and domestic treble On 5 February 2006, during the 2005–06 Lebanese Premier League season, Maatouk scored his first domestic hat-trick against Salam Zgharta in an 8–0 win. He scored a total of eight goals in the league, improving on his previous tally of three. His 2006–07 Lebanese Premier League season, however, was not as prolific, scoring only three league goals and two cup goals.
Maatouk began the 2007–08 season with a hat-trick against Tripoli on Matchday 5, in a match that ended 7–1. Thanks to four other goals scored throughout the season, Maatouk helped Ahed win their first-ever Lebanese League title.
Maatouk was the top goalscorer of the 2008 Lebanese Elite Cup with three goals, on a par with his teammate Salih Sadir. He scored in both of the 2009 AFC Cup group stage games against Busaiteen, but his team failed to qualify to the next round. He won a domestic treble with Ahed during the 2008–09 season, winning the Lebanese FA Cup, the Elite Cup, and the Super Cup.
2009–2011: Consecutive league Best Player awards and top scorer On 30 January 2010, he scored a brace in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup against Nejmeh, despite his side being a man down. This secured the team's entry into the semifinals, which they lost to Ansar 3–1. Three months later, on 7 April, Maatouk scored a brace in the AFC Cup against Al-Jaish as a substitute from the 46th minute; his side lost 6–3. Following up on his previous season's success, Maatouk scored 12 goals in the league; his second win. He was also awarded the Lebanese Premier League Best Player award.
In his final full season (2010–11) with Ahed, Maatouk scored 15 league goals – including a hat-trick against Nejmeh on 30 October 2010, and became the season's top scorer. He also won a domestic quadruple with his team, winning the league, the FA Cup, the Elite Cup, and the Super Cup. Thanks to his performances he won a second Best Player award. Maatouk played his final games for Ahed at the 2011 Elite Cup in September 2011. During the tournament, he scored three goals, including one in the final held on 24 September, which Ahed won 4–2 against Safa. In his seven years with the Lebanese side, Maatouk scored 52 goals in the league, and reportedly 89 goals in all competitions. In the process, he won 12 trophies for his team.
Ajman
2011–12: First season in the UAE Pro League On 27 September 2011, it was announced that Maatouk had completed a loan deal to UAE Pro League side Ajman worth $180,000. He later said in an interview that during a match played for the Lebanon national team, against the United Arab Emirates on 6 September 2011, Ajman's coach was present and showed interest in signing him.
During the 2011–12 season he scored six goals in 21 matches for his club, including as a brace on his debut, on 10 October 2011, in a UAE League Cup match against Al-Nasr. His first league goal, however, came on 3 December of the same year, against Dubai in a 3–1 away win. On 4 January 2012, Maatouk's first UAE Pro League brace came against Sharjah in a 3–1 win, when he scored in the first minutes of both halves.
In 2012 his performances attracted the attention of various European teams, such as French Ligue 1 clubs Olympique Marseille, Ajaccio, and Nice, and German Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund.
Emirates and Al-Shaab
2012–13: Second season in the UAE Pro League On 18 June 2012, it was announced that Maatouk had signed a one-year loan with Emirates Club for $800,000. His former club Ajman had been unable to pay the $500,000 fee that Ahed asked to renew the loan deal. He played one game in the promotion/relegation play-offs, in a 2–1 defeat to Sharjah on 14 September. As Emirates Club finished in last place in the play-off group, they were relegated to the UAE First Division.
Maatouk moved to Al-Shaab on 27 September on a one-year loan for an undisclosed fee. He scored four league goals in 25 matches for the team during the 2012–13 season. He also scored two League Cup goals, one of which was against Al-Nasr on 16 January 2013, Maatouk's third against them in the competition.
Fujairah
2013–2016: Promotion and stay in the UAE Pro League In 2013 Maatouk moved to UAE First Division side Fujairah on a one-year loan. In his debut season he scored 20 league goals in 23 games, helping his side gain promotion back to the UAE Pro League after a seven-year absence from the top flight. Following his successful season, Maatouk's loan was renewed for one season.
On 22 October 2014, Maatouk assisted Boubacar Sanogo's opening goal in a 2–1 victory over Ittihad Kalba, Fujairah's first win of the 2014–15 season. His first Pro League goal for the team, which also happened to be a brace, came on 4 February 2015 against Emirates in a 2–1 win. His next league goals for Fujairah also came in the form of a double against Ittihald Kalba on 21 March 2015, with his 89th-minute goal being the match decider in a 3–2 away win. Maatouk scored a total of five goals in 26 appearances in the league. He helped Fujairah avoid relegation, and was included in the 13-man shortlist for the 2014–15 UAE Pro League Best Foreign Player award as the only Arab and Asian player. Maatouk's loan was once again renewed a further year in July 2015.
During the 2015–16 UAE Pro League season, Maatouk improved his goal tally by scoring nine goals in the same number of appearances as the previous season. He also scored one League Cup goal in two matches. This was not enough to keep the team safe, however, and they were relegated back to the second division after only two seasons.
2016–17: Relegation back to the First Division In his last season for the club, played in the UAE First Division, Maatouk scored 12 goals in 16 appearances. He was released by Fujairah in July 2017; the Lebanese player's desire to terminate his contract came after his team failed to gain promotion to the first division during the 2016–17 season. Maatouk said that the appointment of Diego Maradona as coach was not tempting enough for him to remain, and he would rather depart from the Division One side. He scored a total of 46 goals in 91 league appearances, as well as 10 cup goals in 19 appearances for his club, leaving as Fujairah's all-time top scorer with 56 total goals.
Nejmeh
2017–18: Fourth Elite Cup and third Best Player award Maatouk returned to Lebanon in July 2017, signing for Nejmeh on a reported salary of $365,000 for one season, subject to renewal. Less than a month after signing, he helped the side win the 2017 Lebanese Elite Cup, winning on penalties against his former club Ahed in the final played on 20 August. On his league debut, played on 15 September, Maatouk faced Ahed once again in a 2–2 draw, scoring in the 22nd minute from the penalty spot. His first brace for Nejmeh came two months later, on 5 November, against Tadamon Sour in a 2–0 away win.
Upon his return to the Lebanese Premier League, he scored 13 goals and made 14 assists in 21 league appearances, making him the second-highest scorer and the player with the most assists in the 2017–18 season. He won the Lebanese Premier League Best Player award for the third time, and was included in the Lebanese Premier League Team of the Season for his performances.
2018–19: Fifth Elite Cup and fourth Best Player award