Early career Assaidi was born in
Beni-Boughafer, in northern
Morocco, before his family moved to
Amsterdam. He began his career with the
AZ academy where he spent three years before leaving in 2006 to begin his professional career at
Omniworld in the
Eerste Divisie. After two seasons with the club from
Almere, where he scored 3 goals in 36 games, he moved to
De Graafschap to play in the
Eredivisie, the top flight of Dutch football, in the summer of 2008. Assaidi spent just one year with the club before moving to
Heerenveen on the last day of the transfer window. The move was seen as surprising because Heerenveen had said that they were not planning to buy any new players, but Assaidi's performance at the beginning of the
2009–10 Eredivisie, scoring five goals in five games, meant that an exception was made to bring Assaidi to the club.
Heerenveen Assaidi made his Heerenveen debut in a 1–0 loss at home to arch-rivals
Groningen, where he came on in the 71st minute as a substitute for
Paulo Henrique. He also scored his first goal for Heerenveen in the second round of the
KNVB Cup in a 7–0 away win against
SDC Putten. After coming off the bench in the next three league games, Assaidi was given his first place in the starting line-up for in an away match against
Willem II, which Heerenveen lost 4–1. Assaidi's first league goal for Heerenveen came in a 3–1 defeat to
Heracles, which was also the first game where he played the full 90 minutes for the club. Assaidi lost his starting place towards the end of the season, with only 2 starts in the last 14 games of the season. During this period, Assaidi received the first red card of his career in an away match against
Roda JC, after just nine minutes. Under new manager
Ron Jans, Assaidi became a key figure in the side. With two goals against his old club De Graafschap and
Vitesse, combined with two assists against De Graafschap and
NAC Breda, Assaidi was responsible for four goals in the first six games, the same number of goals that he created in his whole previous season. Assaidi had his best month in November 2010, when he scored in a 2–0 win against
Excelsior, and delivered two assists against Heracles (3–2), 1 against
Feyenoord (2–2) and 2 against Willem II (5–0). In December, Assaidi displayed a Man of the Match performance in a home match against defending champions
Twente, where, despite an ankle injury, Assaidi led Heerenveen to a 6–2 win over the champions by scoring the first hat-trick of his career, whilst also delivering two assists and winning a penalty. After the match, he was applauded for his performance by Jans, who said that Assaidi deserved a "10 out of 10 for his play". His performances would later be rewarded with a first international call-up by
Morocco national team head coach
Erik Gerets for a friendly against
Niger.
Liverpool On 17 August 2012, English
Premier League side
Liverpool agreed a deal to sign Assaidi for an undisclosed fee thought to be in the region of £2.4 million. Liverpool manager
Brendan Rodgers hailed the deal, saying that he was "delighted", and described Assaidi as "an exciting player...that will excite the crowd". He made his debut on 20 September against
Young Boys in a 5–3
UEFA Europa League win, before registering an assist in a 2–1 win over
West Bromwich Albion in the
League Cup six days later. Due to impressive performances from young fellow wingers
Raheem Sterling and
Suso, however, Assaidi failed to break through to Liverpool's regular starting line-up, making 12 appearances in
2012–13 of which four were in the league.
Loans to Stoke City On 27 August 2013, Assaidi joined
Stoke City on loan for the
2013–14 season. Speaking after joining Stoke, Assaidi revealed that he turned down other Premier League clubs after he held positive talks with Stoke manager
Mark Hughes. He made his debut for Stoke in a 3–1 victory over
Walsall in the League Cup on 31 August 2013. He played in the next round of the League Cup
Tranmere Rovers after coming on as a 61st-minute substitute, he provided an assist for
Peter Crouch to secure a 2–0 victory. He made his Premier League debut for Stoke on 5 October 2013, coming on as a 63rd-minute substitute in a 1–0 defeat against
Fulham. Assaidi scored his first goal for Stoke in a League Cup match against
Birmingham City on 29 October 2013. On 7 December, he scored the winning goal in a 3–2 victory against
Chelsea, which was Stoke's first league win over the Blues since 1975. Assaidi scored a similar goal against
Newcastle United on 26 December and also found the net against
Everton on 1 January 2014. On 20 February, it was revealed that Assaidi suffered ligament damage during a club training camp in
Dubai, ruling him out for up to six weeks. Upon returning from injury Assaidi scored in a 4–1 win against
Fulham on 3 May 2014. Stoke manager Mark Hughes admitted that he would like to sign Assaidi on a permanent basis. Stoke, however, was unhappy with Liverpool's asking price. On 1 September 2014, Assaidi re-joined Stoke City on loan for the
2014–15 season. After making 11 appearances for Stoke, eight as a substitute, he was recalled by Liverpool in January 2015.
Al-Ahli Dubai On his return to Liverpool, Assaidi was sold to
UAE Arabian Gulf League side
Al-Ahli Dubai for a fee reported to be in the region of £4.7 million. He made 14 appearances (six starts) in the
2015 AFC Champions League, in which his team lost the final 1–0 on aggregate to
Guangzhou Evergrande. On 15 November 2016, Assaidi was released by the club. Assaidi later admitted that he only signed for the club due to the salary, and that he was ready to return to the Premier League.
Twente and Retirement On 24 December 2016, Assaidi returned to the Dutch Eredivisie after signing a two-and-a-half-year deal with Twente. Assaidi departed Twente at the end of the 2018-19 season, he then started his own sports gym in Morocco called “PlayersHome” with Kamal El Makrini. ==International career==