Yossi Benayoun

LFC Profile and Statistics

Midfielder (Right)

Full Name: Yosef Shai Benayoun
Born:5th May 1980 in Dimona,Israel
Age: 44
Bought: 12th July 2007 from West Ham United
Transfer Fee: £5,000,000

Sold: 2nd July 2010 to Chelsea
Fee Received: £6,000,000

All LFC Appearances: 116 LFC Goals: 22
Career Appearances: 435 Career Goals:121
Israel Appearances: 72 Goals: 19
Previous Clubs: Hapoel Beer Sheva, Maccabi Haifa, Racing Santander, West Ham

Yossi Benayoun Profile

Yossi Benayoun signed from West Ham in July 2007.

The Israel skipper began his career at Hapoel Be'er Sheva, 30 miles from where he was born and grew up.

He joined the Ajax Academy aged 15 he spent just one full season in Holland before returning to Hapoel suffering from homesickness.

Despite scoring 15 goals in his first season after breaking into the first team 1997. The club was relegated and Yossi moved to Maccabi Haifa. Three years of national service would keep him at home until the age of 21.

He made his International senior debut aged 18 against Portugal in November 1998.

He was the country's second top scorer in 1999-00 with 19 goals and in 2000-01 he helped Haifa to win their first title in seven years, winning the division's most valuable player in the process.

The following season brought another title which was to be his last in his homeland. After 4 seasons, 130 appearances and 55 goals for Haifa, he moved to Spain and Racing Santander.

Benayoun spent three seasons in La Liga, managing 21 goals in 101 matches before financial difficulties forced his owners to cash in.

West Ham reportedly paid £2.5million for the forward in the summer of 2005.

Benayoun quickly established himself as one of the Premiership's best right-sided midfielders.

His five goals and seven assists helped Alan Pardew's side finish 9th in 2005-06 - as well as an FA Cup final against Liverpool. He bagged another three goals in his final year with The Hammers, taking his total to eight in 63 league appearances.

Benayoun made his Reds debut in a Champions League qualifier against Toulouse on August 15, 2007.

He opened his Liverpool account in a 4-2 Carling Cup victory at Reading. More cup joy followed in November 2007 with a hat-trick in an 8-0 drubbing of Besiktas in the Champions League group stages.

Benayoun scored 11 goals in total during his debut season at Anfield.