Mahrez was born in Sarcelles, France, to an Algerian father and a mother of Algerian and Moroccan descent.
Growing up, he would regularly spend his holidays in Algeria. His father was from Beni Snous, Tlemcen District.
- When Mahrez was fifteen, his father and mentor Ahmed died of a heart attack.
- In 2009, Mahrez joined CFA side Quimper from AAS Sarcelles, making 22 appearances and scoring 2 goals in his first season with the club.
- While playing for Quimper he lived with Mathias Pogba
- He joined Le Havre in 2010, turning down offers from leading French teams Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille to join them
- He moved to English Football League Championship club Leicester City on 11 January 2014, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract
- Mahrez made his debut on 25 January 2014, coming on in the 79th minute as a substitute replacing fellow winger Lloyd Dyer, in the 2–0 win against Middlesbrough
- He scored both goals in a 2–0 defeat of Southampton on 9 May and ended the season with four goals and three assists from 30 appearances.
- In November 2013 Mahrez expressed his desire to represent Algeria internationally. He was called up to the provisional Algerian squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup
- In January 2016 Mahrez’s transfer value was said to have risen from £4.5 million to £30.1 million, ranking him among the top 50 most valuable players in Europe
- In 2016, Mahrez’s popularity in his homeland led Leicester to have over almost three times as many Facebook fans in Algeria than in the UK.
- The barbershop in Sarcelles that he frequented from his childhood became a destination for fans from as far as Belgium, desiring the same haircut.
Mahrez was one of four Leicester players named in the PFA Team of the Year in April 2016, and later that month he won the PFA Player of the Year award
By Simon Etemesi
