| Salman Al-Faraj | |
| Birth Date: | 1 August 1989 |
| Birth Place: | Medina, Saudi Arabia[1] |
| Height: | 1.80 m[2] |
| Currentclub: | Neom |
| Position: | Midfielder |
| Youthyears1: | 2004–2008 |
| Youthclubs1: | Al Hilal |
| Years1: | 2008–2024 |
| Clubs1: | Al Hilal |
| Caps1: | 242 |
| Goals1: | 17 |
| Years2: | 2024– |
| Clubs2: | Neom |
| Caps2: | 0 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2011–2012 |
| Nationalteam1: | Saudi Arabia U23 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 2 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 1 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2021 |
| Nationalteam2: | Saudi Arabia Olympic (wild-card) |
| Nationalcaps2: | 3 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 0 |
| Nationalyears3: | 2012– |
| Nationalteam3: | Saudi Arabia |
| Nationalcaps3: | 73 |
| Nationalgoals3: | 9 |
| Pcupdate: | 22:59, 27 May 2024 (UTC) |
| Ntupdate: | 19:33, 17 October 2023 (UTC) |
Salman Mohammed Mohammed Al-Faraj (Arabic: سلمان محمد محمد الفرج; born 1 August 1989) is a Saudi Arabian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Saudi First Division League club Neom and captains the Saudi Arabia national team.
Al-Faraj is a one-club man of Al Hilal.
On July 28, 2024, Al-Faraj completed his transfer to Neom, a team in the Saudi First Division League.[3]
Al-Faraj's first match with his national team was against Congo in an international friendly at Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium in al-Hasa, Saudi Arabia on 14 October 2012. The match ended in a 3–2 win.[4] In December 2014, he was named in the Saudi squad for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup in Australia.[5]
Salman's first goal with his national team was against Timor-Leste during the second round of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers at King Abdullah Sports City, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on 3 September 2015. The match ended in a 7–0 win.[6]
In May 2018, he was named in Saudi Arabia's preliminary squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.[7] On 4 June, Salman was included in 23-man squad for the World Cup.[8] On 25 June, Salman scored the equalizing goal and his first ever World Cup goal from the penalty kick in a 2–1 victory over Egypt in their last group stage match of the tournament; it was Saudi Arabia's lone win in the tournament as the team crashed out of the group stage.[9]
In June 2021, he assumed the role of captain for the national team at the 2020 Summer Olympics.[10] Subsequently, in November 2022, he earned a spot in the 26-man squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.[11] However, under the coaching of Roberto Mancini, Al-Faraj was excluded from the squad for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.[12]
| Club | Season | League | King Cup | Crown Prince Cup | Asia | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Al-Hilal | 2008–09 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| 2010–11 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| 2011–12 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 26 | 1 | |||
| 2012–13 | 22 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 1 | — | 36 | 4 | |||
| 2013–14 | 22 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 33 | 0 | |||
| 2014–15 | 20 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 1 | — | 42 | 6 | |||
| 2015–16 | 19 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 3 | ||
| 2016–17 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 31 | 2 | ||
| 2017–18 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | — | 24 | 3 | ||||
| 2018–19 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 2 | |||
| 2019–20 | 19 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 2 | |||
| 2020–21 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 0 | |||
| 2021–22 | 22 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | 10 | 1 | 1 1 | 0 | 38 | 2 | |||
| 2022–23 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | ||||
| 2023–24 | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | — | 31 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 242 | 17 | 33 | 2 | 19 | 3 | 90 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 391 | 25 | ||
| Career totals | 242 | 17 | 33 | 2 | 19 | 3 | 90 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 391 | 25 | ||
Statistics accurate as of match played 17 October 2023.[14]
| Saudi Arabia | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals | |
| 2012 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 10 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2018 | 11 | 2 | |
| 2019 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 9 | 2 | |
| 2022 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 2 | 1 | |
| Total | 73 | 9 | |
Scores and results list Saudi Arabia's goal tally first.
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 3 September 2015 | align=center | 4–0 | align=center | 7–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification | |||
| 2. | 7 October 2017 | align=center | 3–1 | align=center | 5–2 | Friendly | |||
| 3. | 9 May 2018 | align=center | 1–0 | align=center | 2–0 | ||||
| 4. | 25 June 2018 | align=center | 1–1 | align=center | 2–1 | 2018 FIFA World Cup | |||
| 5. | 14 November 2019 | Pakhtakor Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||||
| 6. | 2–2 | ||||||||
| 7. | 15 June 2021 | King Saud University Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | align=center | 1–0 | 3–0 | ||||
| 8. | 2–0 | ||||||||
| 9. | 13 October 2023 | align=center | 1–0 | align=center | 2–2 | Friendly |
Al-Hilal
2015, 2017, 2019–20, 2022–23, 2023–24
2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2015–16