Hany Mukhtar

Hany Abubakr Mukhtar (born 21 March 1995) is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or forward for Major League Soccer club Nashville SC, whom he captains.

Club career

Hertha BSC Mukhtar began playing football at a very early age, initially for FC Stern Marienfelde. He was recruited into the youth academy of then-Bundesliga club Hertha BSC at the age of seven. Rising through Hertha's ranks, he captained the club's U-17 squad to a Championship title in 2012. The following season, he joined Hertha's reserves, and was surprisingly called to the first team when Israeli international Ben Sahar missed a match for Yom Kippur. In the final minute of the match against Dynamo Dresden, Mukhtar came on as a substitute for Ronny, making him the second youngest professional debutant in Hertha's history. The transfer fee was believed to be €500,000 and Hertha BSC would allegedly participate in a potential resale. On 10 April 2015, Mukhtar debuted for the reserve team and scored a goal in a home draw against Chaves (2–2) in Segunda Liga. On 23 May, he played his first match for the first team, as a substitute in a home win against Marítimo (4–1) in their last league match of the season.

On 28 August 2015, he joined Austrian Red Bull Salzburg on a season-long loan deal. Salzburg were also granted a subsequent transfer option.

Brøndby For the following season he was again loaned, this time to Danish club Brøndby IF. On 24 July 2016, he made his Danish Superliga debut by replacing Andrew Hjulsager for the final fifteen minutes of a 2–0 away win over Silkeborg IF. On 21 August, he scored his first goal for Brøndby in a 7–0 away rout over AGF.

On 17 April 2017, Brøndby exercised their option to sign Mukhtar permanently from Benfica. Mukthar penned a four-year contract with Brøndby which tied him to the club until the summer 2021.

On 22 April 2018, Mukhtar was awarded the Superliga Player of the Season, with him being named on the Superligaen Team of the Year by newspaper B.T. On 10 May 2018, Mukhtar played as Brøndby beat Silkeborg IF 3–1 in the Danish Cup final.

Nashville SC

On 27 August 2019, Mukhtar became the first designated player in Nashville SC franchise history. The right to sign him was acquired by Nashville SC from Seattle Sounders FC in exchange for $100,000 in general allocation money. At the time, Mukhtar had never been to the United States, but agreed to Nashville's terms because his mother was a fan of Johnny Cash and that he was aware of the singer's connection to the city.

His debut with Nashville SC was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which cancelled all league matches beginning in March 2020; while the league restarted operations during the MLS is Back Tournament in July, Nashville SC withdrew from the tournament due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the team. On 17 July 2021, Mukhtar scored the first hat-trick in Nashville SC history over Chicago Fire FC. This was the fastest hat-trick from the start of a game in MLS history; Mukhtar scored in the 10th, 13th and 16th minutes. On 1 November 2022, Mukhtar was named the 2022 Landon Donovan MLS MVP after receiving 48.03% of total votes. Mukhtar led the league with 34 goal contributions (23 goals, 11 assists) in 2022, tied for the fifth-most in a single MLS season.

On 6 May 2023, Mukhtar scored his third career hat-trick in a 3–0 victory over Chicago Fire FC, the second goal of which was a penalty kick. He was also awarded his seventh Player of the Matchday award as a result of his performance.

On 18 May 2026, Mukhtar scored a hat-trick in a Nashville's 3–2 home victory against Los Angeles FC.

International career A German youth international, Mukhtar scored the only and winning goal for the Germany U19 national team in the 2014 UEFA European Under-19 Championship final against Portugal. On 1 June 2015, he scored a hat-trick for Germany's under-20 in an 8–1 win against Fiji in his first match at the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Personal life Mukhtar was born in Berlin, Germany, to a Polish-German mother and Sudanese father.

Career statistics

Honors Hertha BSC 2. Bundesliga: 2012–13

Germany U19 UEFA Under-19 Championship: 2014 MLS Best XI: 2021, 2022, 2023 MLS Golden Boot: 2022 MLS All-Star: 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 MLS Player of the Month: August 2022, May 2023 MLS Most Valuable Player: 2022