CAF Champions League: Youcef Belaïli Closes in on Aboutrika's Historic Record

The Algerian international Youcef Belaïli is approaching a major CAF Champions League record. The Espérance forward's tally stands at 47 decisive contributions in the competition, with 18 goals and 29 decisive passes.

He only needs one more decisive action to equal Mohamed Aboutrika and two to become the sole holder of the record. Belaïli much faster than Aboutrika The achievement is all the more remarkable given that Belaïli reached this total in just 7 editions and 61 matches.

For comparison, the former Al Ahly legend Mohamed Aboutrika had accumulated 48 contributions in 9 editions and 88 appearances. The pace of the Desert Foxes' star is therefore markedly higher: about 0.77 decisive contributions per match, versus 0.55 for Aboutrika.

This output underscores Belaïli's offensive weight in the competition, where he has already written history with Espérance de Tunis. With 2 CAF Champions Leagues already won Belaïli is well acquainted with the continent's big fixtures.

With Espérance Sportive de Tunis, he notably won two consecutive CAF Champions Leagues, in 2018 and 2019. His creativity, his quality in the final pass, and his ability to provoke explain largely his 29 continental decisive passes.

His return to the red-and-gold squad this season now offers him a chance to directly challenge this record. The lifting of his suspension had allowed Belaïli to officially rejoin Espérance and resume competition.

Al-Swehly as the first chance to beat the record Espérance, exempt from the first qualifying round of the 2026-2027 CAF Champions League, will enter in the second round against Al-Swehly. The Libyan club eliminated KVZ FC of Zanzibar with an aggregate score of 4-0, after 1-0 and 3-0 wins.

According to CAF's calendar, the first leg will be played between October 16 and 18, before the return between October 23 and 25. This double confrontation could therefore offer Belaïli the opportunity to equal, then surpass Aboutrika, and become the most decisive player in the history of the CAF Champions League.