Mehdi Khalil

Mehdi Salim Khalil (, ; born 19 September 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Sagesse and the Lebanon national team. Khalil is known as "the Mountain" because of his height.

Khalil started his senior career in Sierra Leone at Johansen, before moving to Sweden in 2011, first playing at Köping FF before transferring to Djurgården. Following his experience in Sweden, Khalil moved back to his native country, at Kallon, before joining Lebanese club Safa in 2013. After spending four years at the club, Khalil moved to Lebanese Premier League reigning champions Ahed in 2017. He won the 2019 AFC Cup with the side, the first in Lebanese history, as the competition's Most Valuable Player. In 2020, Khalil moved to Iranian side Zob Ahan on a six-month loan, and in 2023 he joined Al-Faisaly in Jordan on a one-year loan. Khalil returned to Safa on a six-month loan in 2024. After nine years at Ahed, he joined Sagesse in 2026.

Born in the Ivory Coast and raised in Sierra Leone, Khalil was called up to represent Sierra Leone at youth level without featuring. He has represented Lebanon at senior level since 2013. Khalil played at the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification, and was Lebanon's main goalkeeper at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

Early life Born in Bouaké, Ivory Coast to Lebanese parents, Noticing his physical attributes, namely his height, Khalil's coach advised him to switch position to goalkeeper.

At age 15–16, he was noticed by Isha Johansen – owner of football club Johansen alongside her Norwegian husband Arne Birger Johansen In 2010, he participated with Kallon U19 at the Viareggio Cup – an annual youth tournament held in Italy – where he played two of the three games.

Thanks to Johansen's Scandinavian connections, in March 2011 Khalil joined Swedish Division 3 side Köping FF on a three-month loan. Talking about his first training session at the club, Khalil said that "[it] was fun [...] the guys seem lovely, and many of them are young, just like me". Between April and June 2011, Khalil trained with Allsvenskan clubs AIK and Trelleborg.

On 20 July 2011, Khalil moved to Djurgården, AIK's rivals, on a four-month loan. He had been noticed by the club's manager Magnus Pehrsson the previous year at a friendly tournament in Ghana; Khalil was named best goalkeeper of the tournament. On 25 October 2011, Djurgården announced that Khalil's contract would not be renewed.

Following his experience in Sweden, Khalil moved back to Sierra Leone, playing for Kallon during the 2011–12 season. On 24 April 2013, Khalil was sent off against Regar-TadAZ in the 79th minute, with the opposing team scoring from the subsequent penalty kick. However, Safa still won the encounter 3–2 through a 92nd-minute goal by Mohamad Haidar.

Khalil's league debut came in the 2013–14 season, on 23 November 2013, in a 5–0 win over Tadamon Sour. He participated in the 2014 AFC Cup, playing two games. In the 2015–16 season, Khalil played 16 league games, for a fee of around $250,000. Khalil quickly asserted himself as the team's first-choice goalkeeper, playing 18 league games in the 2017–18 season. In his first season at the club, Khalil was included in the 2017–18 Lebanese Premier League Team of the Season as the league's best goalkeeper. the first goalkeeper to do so. Conceding just three goals in 11 matches, Khalil kept nine clean sheets (of which five were consecutive in the knock-out stages) as Ahed went unbeaten throughout the whole tournament.

2020: Loan to Zob Ahan

On 7 January 2020, Khalil joined Persian Gulf Pro League side Zob Ahan on a six-month loan, reuniting him with former Lebanon national team coach Miodrag Radulović. Khalil became the fourth Lebanese player to play for the Iranian side, after Walid Ismail, Ali Hamam, and Rabih Ataya.

He made his league debut for Zob Ahan on 25 January 2020 against Pars Jonoubi Jam; despite being booked in the 64th minute, Khalil kept a clean sheet, helping his side win 1–0 at home. In Khalil's third game, on 7 February 2020, he again kept a 1–0 clean sheet against Sanat Naft, while being booked in the 89th minute. Thanks to his performances in the two fixtures, Khalil was included in the Team of the Week on both occasions. Khalil returned to Ahed as their first-choice goalkeeper. In the first matchday of the 2020–21 season on 4 October 2020, he helped Ahed win 3–2 over Bourj. Khalil played 12 league games, helping Ahed to a fourth-place finish with four clean sheets. He had played his previous league game 16 months prior, also against Akhaa, on 23 April 2021. On 28 October, Khalil saved a penalty and kept a clean sheet in a 1–0 league win against Tadamon Sour. He was a starter in 2022–23, playing 19 league games

2023–2024: Loan to Al-Faisaly On 15 June 2023, Ahed announced Khalil's loan for one season to Al-Faisaly in the Jordanian Pro League; he arrived in Jordan on 10 July. Khalil played in Al-Faisaly's last game in the 2023 Jordan Shield Cup, a 0–0 draw against Ma'an on 14 July, which won his team the tournament. He became the first foreign goalkeeper to play in the Jordan Super Cup, taking part in the 2023 edition between Al-Faisaly and Al-Wehdat which his side lost.

On 7 January 2024, Al-Faisaly announced the termination of his contract by mutual consent, following their elimination from the AFC Champions League group stage.

2024: Loan to Safa On 28 January 2024, Khalil returned to former club Safa on a six-month loan from Ahed. Khalil established himself as Safa's goalkeeper during the second half of the season, featuring in all seven of the club's league matches recorded during his loan spell. Khalil made 21 appearances in all competitions,

On 1 August 2026, Ahed announced Khalil's departure following the end of the 2025–26 season. With Ahed, he won four league titles, two FA Cups, three Super Cups, and one AFC Cup.

International career Khalil was called up for Sierra Leone at the under-17 and under-20 levels, without featuring in any match. Eligible to represent Lebanon through his parents' nationality, Khalil received a call from former Lebanese international player Roda Antar in 2012, who informed him that national team coach Theo Bücker had called him for a training session. He was part of the squad that played in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers between 2015 and 2016; initially Abbas Hassan's reserve for the first three matches, Khalil became Lebanon's first-choice goalkeeper in the final five games of the second round of qualification.

Drawn with North Korea, Hong Kong, and Malaysia, Khalil helped Lebanon finish top of the group unbeaten, conceding only four goals in six games. Lebanon reached the Asian Cup finals for the first time through qualification. In the first two group stage matches, Lebanon lost 2–0 to both Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Needing a win by four goals or more, Lebanon won 4–1 against North Korea for the first time in their history. However, the three points were not enough to qualify Lebanon for the knockout stage. With three wins, one draw and two defeats, Lebanon finished second in their group and qualified to the final qualification round for the World Cup for the second time in their history, and the finals of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup for the second time. On 20 August 2021, during a training session in view of the first qualification game against the United Arab Emirates, Khalil sustained an ACL injury, keeping him on the sidelines for six months.

Following Khalil's ACL injury in 2021, Mostafa Matar became Lebanon's first-choice goalkeeper and retained the position after Khalil's return, with Khalil subsequently serving as the team's second-choice goalkeeper. He was called back up to the national team in September 2022 for a training camp in Bnachii, Zgharta, and played his first game on 19 November, in a 2–0 defeat to Kuwait. In December 2023, Khalil was included in the Lebanese squad for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.

Style of play Known as "the Mountain" because of his height, Khalil is a goalkeeper with good reflexes and a large physical presence. In 2011 his agent Patrick Mörck described him as a "resilient, witty, and responsive goalkeeper", drawing similarities to Swedish former goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson. His uncle, Hussein Khalil, was also a footballer; he encouraged Mehdi to pursue football as more than a hobby. Their son Salim was born on 24 May 2021.

Career statistics International

Lebanese Premier League: 2012–13, 2015–16 Lebanese FA Cup: 2013–14 Lebanese Super Cup: 2013

'''Ahed 2017–18, 2018–19