Yossi Benayoun

Benayoun was born in Dimona, Israel, to a family of Sephardic Moroccan Jewish descent.{{cite web|url=https://www.complex.com/sports/2014/12/the-12-best-current-jewish-athletes/yossi-benayoun|title=The 12 Best Current Jewish AthletesYossi Benayoun|website=Complex}}[http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3059721,00.html Benayoun hopes to get Spanish nationality in August] Ynet, 17:03:05 His father Dudu Benayoun was a footballer who played for Hapoel Dimona as well.{{cite web|url=http://www.haokets.org/2014/09/15/%D7%A2%D7%9C-%D7%99%D7%99%D7%A6%D7%95%D7%92-%D7%9B%D7%A4%D7%99-%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9E%D7%93-%D7%90%D7%95%D7%AA%D7%99-%D7%99%D7%95%D7%A1%D7%99-%D7%91%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%95%D7%9F/|title=על ייצוג כפי שלימד אותי יוסי בניון – עמית בוטבול|work=העוקץ |date=15 September 2014|access-date=20 July 2016 |last1=נעמן |first1=יונית }}{{cite web|url=http://www.dimona.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=918:2010-11-04-22-00-10&catid=25&Itemid=233|title=הפועל דימונה אימפריה של פעם מסמך נוסטלגי מרגש.|last=igal|access-date=20 July 2016}}

Jason Burt of The Independent reports that Benayoun's talent was spotted at the age of nine. At the age of 11 he was labelled a genius, and by 13, his face appeared on the cover of Israeli magazines. Benayoun began to play with Hapoel Be'er Sheva. To attend training, he hitchhiked the 60 km roundtrip with his father.{{cite news|url=http://www.uefa.com/magazine/news/kind=512/newsid=319108.html |title=Benayoun the kid for Hammers |publisher=UEFA |date=22 July 2005 |access-date=11 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013092928/http://uefa.com/magazine/news/kind%3D512/newsid%3D319108.html |archive-date=13 October 2007 |url-status=dead }}

When he was 15, Ajax invited Benayoun and his family to the Netherlands. By his 16th birthday, he was the Ajax youth team's highest scorer and best player, and Ajax duly offered Benayoun a four-year professional contract.{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/the-kid-from-the-negev-desert-314820.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/the-kid-from-the-negev-desert-314820.html |archive-date=7 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=The Kid from the Negev Desert|first=Jason|last=Burt|work=The Independent|location=UK|date=24 September 2005|access-date=4 June 2014}}{{cbignore}} However, Benayoun and his family found the adjustment to Amsterdam difficult, and they returned to Israel after eight months.

At the age of 16, he was promoted to the Hapoel Be'er Sheva senior team for the 1997–98 Liga Leumit, but could not prevent the club from being relegated to Israel's second division. In the last match of the season against Maccabi Haifa, Benayoun got a penalty kick in the 90th minute. Haifa's goalkeeper, Nir Davidovich, saved the shot but Benayoun scored the rebound to give his team the win. However, their relegation rival had won their match, meaning that his team would be relegated nonetheless. Seconds after scoring, while celebrating the winning and what he thought to be a league survival goal, Benayoun found out about the relegation and burst into tears.{{soccerbase}} Benayoun finished as the league's joint fourth-leading goalscorer that season, with 15 goals in 25 appearances.

After that season, Benayoun moved to Maccabi Haifa in a deal signed by Ya'akov Shahar (Maccabi Haifa's president) and Eli Zino (the former Be'er Sheva president), and it was agreed that the two clubs would share the profits from selling Benayoun to a European club.

In 1998, under the guidance of Dusan Uhrin and Daniel Brailovsky, Benayoun and Haifa reached the quarterfinals of the Cup Winners' Cup, and he scored a late equaliser against Paris Saint-Germain and also against SV Ried in a 4–1 victory.

Benayoun also scored 16 goals in 29 matches for Haifa in the 1998–99 Liga Leumit, finishing the season as the equal eighth leading goalscorer for his team.

In 1999, he confronted his manager Eli Cohen, when Benayoun allegedly refused to be substituted during a match. This incident, plus a bad month for the club, ultimately caused Cohen's resignation. In the 1999–2000, the maiden season of the newly formed Israeli Premier League, Benayoun scored 19 goals in 38 matches for Maccabi Haifa, and was the league's third highest goalscorer.

In the 2000–01 season under the guidance of Avram Grant, Benayoun led Haifa to a first championship after seven years and was chosen as the Most Valuable Player of the season, after amassing 13 goals in 37 matches. Another successful season placed him as the league's equal sixth highest goalscorer.

The next season, Benayoun helped Maccabi Haifa win another championship, despite suffering from an injury at the beginning of the season. When he returned to play, he combined well with Đovani Roso, Raimondas Žutautas, and Yakubu to win the championship. In his last season with Maccabi Haifa, Benayoun scored 7 times in 33 matches.

Benayoun made 130 appearances for Haifa, scoring 55 goals.

In 2002, Benayoun moved to Racing de Santander in Spain's La Liga, scoring five goals in 31 matches his first season (2002–03 La Liga), seven goals in 35 matches his second (2003–04 La Liga), and nine goals in 35 matches his third (2004–05 La Liga), the latter including a hat-trick against Deportivo La Coruña in a 4–1 away victory.

In total, he made 101 appearances for Racing, scoring 21 goals.

Santander opted to cash in on Benayoun by selling him to his agents Pini Zahavi and Ronen Katsav for €3.5 million. Benayoun rejected a €5 million move to CSKA Moscow, preferring a move to England or to remain in Spain. This sparked a great deal of interest in the player with Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Bolton Wanderers, Real Sociedad, and Deportivo La Coruña seen as likely suitors.{{cite news |last=Kendall |first=Mark |title=Agents buy Benayoun's rights |publisher=Sky Sports |url=http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11840_2340953,00.html# |access-date=6 August 2008}}

Newly promoted FA Premier League team West Ham United completed the signing of Benayoun in July 2005 for a fee of £2.5 million, with Benayoun signing a four-year contract.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/west_ham_utd/4689691.stm "West Ham complete Benayoun swoop"], BBC Sport, 19 July 2005. Retrieved 23 June 2007. Manager Alan Pardew hailed the signing citing Benayoun's ability to 'open the door when teams sit deep' while Benayoun revealed his excitement at the opportunity to play for West Ham and in the Premiership.{{cite news |title=West Ham complete Benayoun swoop |website=BBC Sport |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/west_ham_utd/4689691.stm |date= 19 June 2005 |access-date=30 November 2009}}

He made his Premiership debut for West Ham on the opening day of the 2005–06 season (13 August 2005 against Blackburn Rovers) in West Ham's 3–1 win.{{cite news |title=West Ham 3–1 Blackburn |website=BBC Sport |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/4127042.stm |date=13 August 2005 |access-date=6 August 2008}} He went on to score his first Premiership goal for the club when he netted the closing goal in a 4–0 home victory over Aston Villa on 12 September 2005.{{cite news |title=West ham 4–0 Aston Villa |website=BBC Sport |date=12 September 2005 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/4210912.stm |access-date=6 August 2008}}

In May 2006, Benayoun played in the 2006 FA Cup Final for West Ham against Liverpool in Cardiff, West Ham losing on penalties after a 3–3 draw.[https://archive.today/20140604215338/http://www.thefa.com/TheFACup/News/2006/May/FACF06_MatchReport "Reds in seventh heaven"], The Football Association, 13 May 2006. Retrieved 4 June 2014. Benayoun scored five times in 34 league matches in his first season at West Ham and three goals in 29 appearances his second season. His last game for West Ham was a 1–0 victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford on 13 May 2007, a game in which West Ham avoided relegation following a single goal from Carlos Tevez.{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/6627803.stm | title=Manchester United 0-1 West Ham United | website=BBC Sport | access-date=20 May 2015}}{{cite web | url=http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=2&ham=812&united=Yossi_Benayoun | title=Welcome to the Wonderful World of West Ham United Statistics – Yossi Benayoun | publisher=www.westhamstats.info | access-date=20 May 2015}}

File:Benayoun.JPG in 2009]]

Benayoun moved to Liverpool under controversial circumstances. He had verbally agreed on a new four-year deal with West Ham in May 2007, only to go back on the agreement in a bid to move to Liverpool.{{cite news |last=O'Rourke |first=Peter |title=Yossi agrees new hammers deal |publisher=Sky Sports |url=http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11685_2389133,00.html |access-date=6 August 2008}} The controversy was heightened on 10 July when the Israeli media reported that Benayoun's agent, Ronen Katsav, had agreed a deal with Liverpool which would mean Benayoun taking a lower pay than the £50,000 a week offered by West Ham in May.[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3423780,00.html "Benayoun leaves West Ham for Liverpool"], ynetnews.com, 10 July 2007. Retrieved 10 July 2007. On 12 July, Liverpool reported on their official website that the signing of Benayoun had been completed a £5 million deal with him signing a four-year contract.[http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/latest-news/benayoun-signs-for-liverpool "Benayoun signs for Liverpool"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606220353/http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/latest-news/benayoun-signs-for-liverpool |date=6 June 2014 }}, Liverpool F.C., 12 July 2007. Retrieved 4 June 2014.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/6289760.stm "Benayoun seals Liverpool transfer"], BBC Sport, 12 July 2007. Retrieved 14 July 2007.

Benayoun was introduced as a Liverpool player along with Ryan Babel on 13 July, and was given the number 11 shirt. He made his first competitive start for Liverpool against Toulouse in the first leg of the third qualification round for the UEFA Champions League. His first goal for Liverpool came on 25 September 2007 when he scored against Reading in the League Cup. On 7 November 2007, in a UEFA Champions League home game against Beşiktaş in the Group Stage, Benayoun scored a hat trick in Liverpool's 8–0 win against the Istanbul team. Benayoun scored a second hat-trick against a mismatched opponent in his first season against non-league side Havant & Waterlooville in the FA Cup, a team 122 places behind Liverpool on the league pyramid. Benayoun ended a successful first season having played 48 games scoring 11 goals in the process, including four league goals against Wigan Athletic, Portsmouth, Aston Villa, and Birmingham City.

Benayoun's performance was not enough to prevent transfer rumours in the summer of 2008. This led to the Israeli openly announcing his intention to stay, saying: "Liverpool is good for me and it was always clear I want to stay and Liverpool wants me,"{{cite news |title=Benayoun staying with reds |publisher=Sky Sports |url=http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11669_3793337,00.html |access-date=6 August 2008 |date=8 July 2008}} He was given his preferred number 15 shirt (which was occupied by Peter Crouch during the 2007–08 season but was vacated when he moved to Portsmouth) the reason he swtiched from 11 to 15 was because it was the number he wore for Hapoel Be'er Sheva, Maccabi Haifa, Racing de Santander, West Ham United and Israel.{{cite web |title=Yossi switches numbers |publisher=Liverpool F.C. |url=http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N160789080805-0948.htm |access-date=6 August 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080822074958/http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N160789080805-0948.htm |archive-date = 22 August 2008}}

On 6 December 2008, Benayoun scored his first goal of the 2008–09 season in Liverpool's 3–1 victory over Blackburn.

On 25 February 2009, Benayoun scored a header from Fábio Aurélio's free-kick in the 82nd minute against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 to give Liverpool a 1–0 win.{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/7899591.stm |website=BBC Sport | title=Real Madrid 0–1 Liverpool | date=25 February 2009}}

Again on 4 April 2009, Benayoun came on as a substitute in Liverpool's match against Fulham to score a dramatic winner in the 94th minute.{{cite news |title=Liverpool's late reward may mask prime form for Europe|work=Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2009/apr/06/fulham-liverpool-premier-league-yossi-benayoun|first=Dominic|last=Fifield|access-date=4 May 2014|date=6 April 2009}} On 21 April 2009, in a home match against Arsenal, he scored a diving header and volleyed a late equaliser in injury time to level the scores at 4–4.{{cite web |title=English Soccer: Benayoun scores 2 but Arshavin dents Liverpool's title hopes|work=The Jerusalem Post|date=22 April 2009 |url=http://www.jpost.com/Sports/English-Soccer-Benayoun-scores-2-but-Arshavin-dents-Liverpools-title-hopes|access-date=4 June 2014}}

Benayoun finished his second season at Anfield in spectacular fashion; scoring a goal in each of Liverpool's last three home matches. In the 2008–09 season, Benayoun played in 39 matches, scoring 9 goals, including eight league goals against Wigan, Blackburn, Newcastle, Sunderland, Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur and a brace against Arsenal. He established a regular starting position in the Liverpool team in the second half of the season.

On 6 July 2009, he signed a two-year contract extension tying him to the club until 2013.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/8137165.stm|title=Benayoun extends Liverpool deal |date=5 July 2009|website=BBC Sport|access-date=6 July 2009}}

On 12 September 2009, he scored his first Premier League hat-trick for Liverpool in a 4–0 win against Burnley.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/liverpool/6174222/Liverpool-4-Burnley-0-match-report.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090915175840/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/liverpool/6174222/Liverpool-4-Burnley-0-match-report.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 September 2009|title=Liverpool 4 Burnley 0|date=12 September 2009|work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |access-date=12 September 2009 | first=Rory | last=Smith}} He was the first player to score Premiership, Champions League and FA Cup hat tricks, but has since been joined by Sergio Aguero and Harry Kane.{{cite news|url=http://www.sport.co.uk/news/Football/27072/Answer_Who_is_the_only_player_to_have_scored_hat-tricks_in_the_Premier_League_FA_Cup_and_Champions_League_.aspx|title=Who is the only player to have scored hat-tricks in the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League? |date=5 July 2009|publisher=Sport.co.uk|access-date=18 January 2011}} He scored the first goal in Liverpool's 3–0 win over West Ham.

Benayoun's last goal for the club came in the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League semi-final against Atlético Madrid. Benayoun scored in extra time to give Liverpool a 2–1 aggregate lead before Diego Forlán scored to put Atleti through to the finals.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/8649664.stm|title=Liverpool 2 – 1 Atletico Madrid (agg 2 – 2)|last=Ornstein|first=David|date=29 April 2010|website=BBC Sport |access-date=4 July 2017}}

File:Yossibenayounch.jpg in 2010]]

Benayoun signed for Chelsea on 2 July 2010, agreeing on a three-year deal, and keeping him at Stamford Bridge until summer 2013.{{cite web|url=http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2010/07/02/2005672/liverpool-winger-yossi-benayoun-to-ink-55m-deal-at-chelsea-today- |title=Liverpool winger Yossi Benayoun to ink £6.5m deal at Chelsea today – report |publisher=Goal.com |date=2 July 2010 |access-date=6 January 2011}}{{cite news|url=http://www.chelseafc.com/news-article/article/2082180 |title=YOSSI BENAYOUN SIGNS |date=2 July 2010 |access-date=4 June 2014 |work=Chelsea FC |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100805010758/http://www.chelseafc.com/page/LatestNews/0%2C%2C10268~2082180%2C00.html |archive-date=5 August 2010 }}{{cite news|url=http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/latest-news/yossi-joins-chelsea |title=Yossi joins Chelsea |date=2 July 2010 |access-date=8 April 2011 |work=Liverpool FC |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100726062046/http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/latest-news/yossi-joins-chelsea |archive-date=26 July 2010 }} Both clubs agreed on a fee of reported £5.5 million for the transfer of the Israeli winger's services. He said, in a statement to the club's official website, "I am very excited to come to a club like Chelsea, it is a big club and I think it is a dream for every player. Hopefully we will be successful."

Benayoun made his debut against Eintracht Frankfurt in a pre-season friendly{{cite web|url=http://www.chelseafc.com/news-article/article/2108102 |title=MATCH REPORT: EINTRACHT FRANKFURT 2 CHELSEA 1 |publisher=Chelsea FC |access-date=4 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140630184920/http://www.chelseafc.com/news-article/article/2108102 |archive-date=30 June 2014 }} before making his first competitive appearance on 8 August in a 3–1 loss against Manchester United in the 2010 FA Community Shield, by coming on for left-winger Florent Malouda in the 72nd minute. On 21 August, Benayoun scored his first league goal in the 93rd minute for Chelsea in a 6–0 thrashing of Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium in Wigan, Greater Manchester.{{cite web|url=http://www.chelseafc.com/news-article/article/2130495 |title=MATCH REPORT: WIGAN ATHLETIC 0 CHELSEA 6 |publisher=Chelsea FC |access-date=4 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140630163356/http://www.chelseafc.com/news-article/article/2130495 |archive-date=30 June 2014 }}

On 22 September, Benayoun ruptured his achilles during Chelsea's 4–3 League Cup loss against Newcastle United.{{cite web|url=http://www.chelseafc.com/matchday-live/match/54582 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140604215351/http://www.chelseafc.com/matchday-live/match/54582 |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 June 2014 |title=22 September 2010, Chelsea 3 – 4 Newcastle |publisher=Chelseafc.com |access-date=4 June 2014 }} Benayoun fully recovered from this injury and was played in the second half against Wigan Athletic on 9 April 2011.

On 26 August 2011, Benayoun offered Juan Mata his number 10 shirt. Benayoun said: "I decided to give Mata the number 10 – his favourite. For me it's just a number, not my lucky 15." (Florent Malouda wore number 15 at the time.) Mata wore the shirt for Valencia and while skippering Spain's Under 21s in the summer and expressed his gratitude to Benayoun. "It is a very important number to me so I'm pleased to be wearing it. I want to thank Yossi," he said.{{cite web|url=http://www.givemefootball.com/premier-league/chelsea-playmaker-confirms-new-no-10|title=Chelsea playmaker confirms new No.10|work=GiveMeSport|access-date=13 May 2012|archive-date=1 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121001031902/http://www.givemefootball.com/premier-league/chelsea-playmaker-confirms-new-no-10|url-status=dead}}

During the 2011 Tour of Asia, in the friendly game against the Malaysia XI team, Benayoun suffered repeated booing from the Malaysian crowd each time he touched the ball. It was reported that "The occasion was soured by the repeated jeering of Israel midfielder Benayoun by the 85,000-strong crowd ..." another source reported that "Muslim-majority Malaysia is a staunch supporter of the Palestinians and has no diplomatic ties with Israel. The midfielder was jeered throughout his appearance for the first half of the friendly."{{cite news|title=EPL giants Chelsea win friendly in Malaysia; Israeli midfielder Yossi Benayoun booed by large crowd|url=http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/premier-league/epl-giants-chelsea-win-friendly-in-malaysia-israeli-midfielder-yossi-benayoun-booed-by-large-crowd/story-e6frf4a3-1226099472584|access-date=26 July 2011|newspaper=Fox Sports|date=22 July 2011}}{{cite news|last=Dalleres|first=Frank|title=Benayoun abused as Chelsea fail to shine under Villas-Boas|url=http://www.cityam.com/sport/benayoun-abused-chelsea-fail-shine-under-villas-boas|access-date=26 July 2011|newspaper=City A.M.|date=22 July 2011}}

File:Yossi Benayoun Arsenal vs Swansea.jpg in 2011]]

On 31 August 2011, it was confirmed Benayoun had joined Arsenal on a one-year loan deal as he found chances at Chelsea limited. He made his debut on 10 September 2011 coming on as a second-half substitute for Andrei Arshavin against Swansea City. On 20 September 2011, he scored his first goal for Arsenal in the 78th minute of a League Cup match against Shrewsbury Town.{{cite news|title=Arsenal 3 – 1 Shrewsbury|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/14893648.stm|website=BBC Sport|access-date=21 September 2011|date=20 September 2011}}

Benayoun scored his first UEFA Champions League goal for Arsenal in a 3–1 defeat to Olympiacos. He scored his first Premier League goal for Arsenal against Aston Villa, scoring an 87th-minute header in a 2–1 victory on 21 December 2011.{{cite web | url=http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=317935&cc=4716 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114013450/http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=317935&cc=4716 |archive-date=14 January 2012 | title=Report: Aston Villa v Arsenal – Barclays Premier League – ESPN Soccernet | access-date=12 April 2012}}

Benayoun captained Arsenal in their 1–0 League Cup defeat to Manchester City. He stated "The truth is I did not expect this, but it was a nice moment. When the line-up was revealed at the hotel, I saw the letter 'C' next to my name; I thought there was some mix up. But overall it was a nice experience"

{{cite web|url=http://goonertalk.com/2011/12/01/benayoun-when-i-saw-the-team-sheet-i-thought-it-was-a-mix-up/|title=Benayoun: 'When I saw the team-sheet I thought it was a mix-up!' – Gooner Talk|work=goonertalk.com|date=December 2011}}

Benayoun started the match against Tottenham Hotspur on 26 February 2012. He came off in the 88th minute for Gervinho, receiving a standing ovation from the Arsenal faithful with the Gunners winning the match 5–2, after being 2–0 down. He then started against his old club Liverpool, on 3 March 2012, before being substituted in the 74th minute again for Gervinho, Arsenal went on to win the game 2–1. He then started the match against Manchester City on 8 April 2012, and nearly had a chance to score in the second half, but only to see his stabbing shot take a deflection, which then came off the post. He was substituted in the second half for Aaron Ramsey, and just like in the match against Tottenham, the Arsenal fans gave him a standing ovation when leaving the pitch. Arsenal went on to win the game 1–0, thanks to a late Mikel Arteta goal. On 11 April 2012 he scored his second league goal of the season in the 3–0 away win against Wolves, a result which strengthened Arsenal's place in third as they opened up a gap of five points over arch-rival Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United with five games remaining.{{cite web | url=http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=317991&cc=4716 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120414001212/http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=317991&cc=4716 |archive-date=14 April 2012 | title=Report: Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal – Barclays Premier League – ESPN Soccernet | access-date=12 April 2012}} He then opened the scoring against Norwich in Arsenal's final home game of the season which ended 3–3{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17878309|title=Arsenal 3–3 Norwich|author=Graham Chase|work=BBC Sport |date=3 May 2012 }} and then scoring in the last game of the season for Arsenal against West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns, the match ended 3–2 to Arsenal, meaning Arsenal would finish third, beating their North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, who finished fourth. In all, Benayoun played 19 league games for Arsenal, scoring four goals.

On 31 August 2012, Benayoun returned to West Ham United on loan for the 2012–13 season, becoming their eleventh signing of the transfer window.{{cite news|last=Ornstein|first=David|title=Yossi Benayoun to join West Ham on loan from Chelsea|work=BBC Sport |date=31 August 2012 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19446475|access-date=1 September 2012}}{{cite web|title=Benayoun returns|url=http://www.whufc.com/articles/20120901/benayoun-returns_2236884_2906876|publisher=whufc.com|access-date=1 September 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120903223831/http://www.whufc.com/articles/20120901/benayoun-returns_2236884_2906876|archive-date=3 September 2012}} He sustained an injury playing against Newcastle United in November and pulled a ligament after returning to training. He played no further games for West Ham and returned to Chelsea in December 2012. He had played only six games on loan with West Ham.{{cite news|last=Griver|first=Simon|title=D-day looms for injured Benayoun|url=http://www.thejc.com/sport/sport-news/94888/d-day-looms-injured-benayoun|access-date=2 January 2013|newspaper=www.thejc.com|date=21 December 2012}}

Benayoun joined Queens Park Rangers until the end of the 2013–14 season on 10 December 2013.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/25316206|title=Yossi Benayoun: QPR sign ex-Chelsea and Liverpool midfielder|website=BBC Sport|date=10 December 2013|access-date=10 December 2013}} He made his debut against Leicester City in a 1–0 loss in a league match coming as a 69th-minute substitute for Tom Carroll.{{cite web|title=QPR vs Leicester City|url=https://int.soccerway.com/matches/2013/12/21/england/championship/queens-park-rangers-fc/leicester-city-fc/1484281/?ICID=HP_MS_02_01|publisher=Soccerway|access-date=21 December 2013}} He scored his first goal for the club on 22 March 2014 in an away trip to Middlesbrough to equalise in a game which QPR went on to win 1–3.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/26589061|title=Middlesbrough 1–3 Queens Park Rangers|work=BBC Sport |date=21 March 2014 }} He scored his second goal for the club three days later in a 1–0 home win over Wigan Athletic, though he was also sent off towards the very end of the game for a second bookable offence.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/26623189|title=Queens Park Rangers 1–0 Wigan Athletic|work=BBC Sport |date=24 March 2014 }}

On 6 June 2014, it was officially announced that Benayoun would return to Maccabi Haifa on a two-year deal worth US$1 million.

{{cite web|url=https://www.maccabi-tlv.co.il/en/2016/06/benayoun-signs-one-year-deal-maccabi/|title=BENAYOUN SIGNS ONE-YEAR-DEAL AT MACCABI – Maccabi Tel Aviv Football Club|date=13 June 2016|access-date=20 July 2016}} He was appointed the team's captain, replacing veteran Yaniv Katan who retired from football. In his two seasons, Maccabi Haifa did not do well in the Israeli Premier League, with Benayoun scoring five and six goals respectively, but did win the Israel State Cup after 18 years. Benayoun had some confrontations with the fans, and after he and Haifa won the cup, he announced he was leaving Haifa and joining bitter rivals Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Benayoun played one season in Maccabi Tel Aviv, scoring only one league goal and failing to win any title.

In the beginning of the 2017–18 season Benayoun signed for Beitar Jerusalem.{{cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Sports/Benayoun-bolts-Maccabi-Tel-Aviv-for-Beitar-Jerusalem-497347|title=Benayoun bolts Maccabi Tel Aviv for Beitar Jerusalem|website=The Jerusalem Post|date=19 June 2017}} He started well, scoring three league goals with Beitar ranking among the league's leaders, before losing his place in the first squad in January and playing very little. As a result, he left Beitar and signed for Maccabi Petah Tikva. After a short spell with Maccabi Petah Tikva, he returned to Beitar Jerusalem in 2019.{{cite news |date=31 January 2018 |title=Benayoun finalizes deal with Maccabi Petah Tikvah |url=http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Sports/Benayoun-finalizes-deal-with-Maccabi-Petah-Tikvah-540277 |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post}}

In April 2019, Benayoun announced his retirement from football.{{cite web|url=https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/announcements/345427-yossi-benayoun-announces-retirement|title=Yossi Benayoun announces retirement|website=Liverpool FC|date=11 April 2019}}

Benayoun was a member of the Israel U16 team that came third in the 1996 UEFA European Under-16 Championship.

He made his senior debut for the Israel national team against Portugal in a friendly on 18 November 1998 that resulted in a 2–0 away loss. Benayoun scored his first international hat-trick in a UEFA Euro 2000 qualifier against San Marino at Ramat Gan Stadium on 8 September 1999. The match finished as an 8–0 win for Israel.

During the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Benayoun became the leading player of the Israel national team after equalizing against Cyprus at home (in a game that ended 2–1 to Israel) and scoring twice against Switzerland. In the away game in Cyprus, He assisted the winning goal after Nir Davidovich saved a crucial goal. His strong performances gave Israel a chance at qualifying for the World Cup, but they missed out on goal difference.

Just prior to the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers, Benayoun was given the captaincy of the Israeli national team. In eight appearances in the qualifiers, Benayoun has scored two goals. On 2 September 2010, Benayoun scored his second international hat-trick against Malta in a 3–1 win. Benayoun is Israel's most capped player of all time with 102 caps, and their joint third top scorer with 24 international goals.

{{notelist}}

:Scores and results list Israel's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Benayoun goal.

Maccabi Haifa

• Israeli Premier League: 2000–01, 2001–02{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}
• Israel State Cup: 2015–16{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}

West Ham United

• FA Cup runner-up: 2005–06{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/4756045.stm |title=Liverpool 3–3 West Ham (aet) |website=BBC Sport |date=13 May 2006 |access-date=29 August 2021}}

Chelsea

• UEFA Europa League: 2012–13{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22445388 |title=Benfica 1–2 Chelsea |first=Phil |last=McNulty |website=BBC Sport |date=15 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019074135/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22445388 |archive-date=19 October 2013}}

Individual

• Israeli Footballer of the Year: 2000–01{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}

{{Portal|Israel|Biography|Association football}}

• List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
• List of UEFA Champions League hat-tricks
• List of Premier League hat-tricks
• List of La Liga hat-tricks
• List of Jewish footballers
• List of Jews in sports

{{reflist}}

{{Commons category}}

• {{FIFA player|178915}}
• [https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/isra-intlp-benayoun.html Yossi Benayoun international fames and goals (updated to 14 Feb 2011)] at the RSSSF
• {{ESPN FC|19091}}
• [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/shared/bsp/hi/football/statistics/players/b/benayoun_185995.stm Yossi Benayoun] at BBC Sport
• [http://maccabi-haifafc.walla.co.il/?w=/3037/2753156 Profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304112106/http://maccabi-haifafc.walla.co.il/?w=%2F3037%2F2753156 |date=4 March 2016 }} on maccabi-haifafc.walla.co.il
• [http://one.co.il/Article/234642.html Article] on one.co.il
• {{Twitter}}

{{Israeli Footballer of the Year}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benayoun, Yossi}}

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