Early career Born in Belgium to
Riffian-Moroccan parents, El Kaddouri began his early career at
K. Diegem Sport. He subsequently moved to
Anderlecht after being scouted by their youth system. During the
Torneo di Viareggio in 2007, he was scouted by Italian football club
Brescia who signed him in 2008. He played two seasons with the Brescia youth team, managing a first team appearance when he came on as a substitute against
Livorno on 30 March 2009, aged just 18. Due to a lack of first team opportunities, he was sent out to
Lega Pro side
Südtirol, where he managed 32 appearances, scoring two goals and assisting a further 10.
Brescia During
2011–12, El Kaddouri returned to
Brescia, who decided to establish him in the centre midfield. On 3 October 2011, he scored the second goal in a defeat of
Cittadella. On 5 March 2012 he scored his fifth goal of the season for
le Rondinelle against
Gubbio, on an assist of
Jonathas. He concluded the season with 38 appearances and 7 goals.
Napoli On 24 August 2012 El Kaddouri officially signed with
Napoli under a
co-ownership agreement for €2 million. He officially debuted with the Neapolitans on 20 September as a starter in a
Europa League match against Swedish side
AIK Fotboll; his
Serie A debut was on 2 December, in a home game against
Pescara. He collected 7 appearances in
Serie A, with 14 in total throughout the season. On 20 June 2013 Napoli acquired the second half of his contract from Brescia.
Loan to Torino On 11 July 2013 El Kaddouri was loaned to
Torino with the right to redeem half of his contract in co-ownership. He made his debut on 17 August in the
third round of
Coppa Italia, a 1–2 defeat against
Pescara, substituting
Alexander Farnerud at halftime. On 24 November he scored his first two goals for Torino during a 4–1 win against
Catania. On 17 February 2014 he scored the final goal in a 3–1 win away at
Verona, after providing two assists on the earlier goals. In the
league El Kaddouri collected 29 appearances and 5 goals. At the end of the season Torino opted to acquire 50% of his contract, however, Napoli exercised the right redeem his contract in full as stipulated. On 1 July 2014 he was reloaned to Torino with a buyout clause. On 7 February 2015 he scored his first goal of the season during an away fixture against Verona; the game ended 3–1 in favour of the
Granata. On 25 June 2015 El Kaddouri's contract was not redeemed by Torino and he returned to Naples. On 31 January 2017, during the winter transfer window, El Kaddouri officially joined
Empoli, moving from Napoli on a three-and-a-half-year contract, until 30 June 2021.
PAOK On August 24, 2017, PAOK announced the signing of the
Moroccan midfielder, who signed a four-year contract with the team. On 14 April 2018, he scored his first goal in the
Super League, in a 3–1 home victory over
Panionios. In his first year in the team of
Thessaloniki, he reached the conquest of the
Greek Cup. The final between PAOK and
AEK was held at the
OAKA stadium, with "Dikefalos tou Vorras" prevailing with a score of
2–0. The following
season he clearly had a more active role in the team and took many opportunities from
Răzvan Lucescu, the coach of PAOK. However, during the winter transfer window, there were strong rumors of a possible transfer to
Parma,
Italy, but after a suggestion from Lucescu and
Ivan Savvidis, he eventually stayed at the club, and in the season finale celebrated the
double, in addition to the championship, also won the
cup. In the
2019-2020 season, he was one of the main selections for the starting lineup, while
2020-2021 was his most productive year with the Thessaloniki team, participating in 39 games and offering 3 goals and 6 assists. In the final he celebrated the conquest of the
Greek cup with PAOK. PAOK in the final prevailed with a score of 2–1 over
OSFP. This was the fourth overall title of El Kantouri with the team of PAOK. He did not play in the final. On June 16, 2021, PAOK and El Kaddouri agreed to extend their contract for another two years, with the prospect of an extension for another year. El Kaddouri entered the
season with a muscle injury, after the first matches in Europe with
Bohemian F.C. and
Rijeka in which he was present. This left him out of the first two matches of the
Conference League groups with
Lincoln City F.C. and
Slovan Bratislava as well as the first five matches of the Championship with
PAS at home,
Asteras away,
Panetolikos away,
AEK inside and
OFI away. El Kaddouri returned at the beginning of April at the disposal of
Răzvan Lucescu. He played 63 minutes in the playoff with Panathinaikos and in the second half of the match against
Marseille, scoring PAOK's goal against the French team.
CFR Cluj On January 5, 2024,
CFR Cluj announced the signing of the
midfielder, who signed a contract with the team.
SPAL After 9 months of playing in Gruia, El Kaddouri has prematurely ended his contract with CFR Cluj by mutual agreement and he signed with Italian club
SPAL for one season. ==International career==