Saint-Étienne Benalouane started out his professional career at a French club
Saint-Étienne, playing exclusively for the reserves in 2005 before successfully promoted to the first team in 2007.
Cesena On 31 August 2010, Benalouane joined Serie A club
Cesena for an undisclosed fee. After a particularly poor performance in a 2–0 loss against
Bologna in December 2010, Benalouane was substituted. On leaving the pitch, and being jeered by Cesena supporters, he stormed past the bench and headed straight down the tunnel. He later publicly apologised for his behaviour.
Parma and Atalanta In the summer of 2012, Benalouane was loaned to
Parma, making his move permanent in July 2013 in a
co-ownership deal. He signed a five-year contract with the
Serie A outfit. On 3 January 2014, he joined
Atalanta on a loan deal.
Leicester City On 3 August 2015, Benalouane joined
Premier League club
Leicester City on a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee, reported to be €8 million. On 31 January 2016, he joined Italian club
ACF Fiorentina on loan until the end of the season, but did not play for the club due to injury. In June 2016, Benalouane filed an appeal with the
Lega Serie A over unpaid wages from Fiorentina, whose sporting director claimed Leicester had deceived them over the player's fitness. Following the close of the transfer window, Benalouane was excluded from Leicester City's finalised squad for the 2016–17 Premier League season. Benalouane spent most of the season playing for the
reserves, but returned to the first team in January 2017 following the departures of
Luis Hernández and
Jeffrey Schlupp. He played his first senior game of the 2016–17 season in a 3–1 FA Cup fourth-round replay win over
Derby County on 8 February 2017.
Nottingham Forest On 18 January 2019 it was announced that Benalouane had become new manager
Martin O'Neill's first signing for
Nottingham Forest. He made his debut for the club the following day, playing the full 90 minutes of a 0–1 home defeat to
Bristol City. He scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 win over arch-rivals
Derby County on 25 February 2019.
Aris After having his contract cancelled with Forest by mutual consent, Benalouane subsequently joined
Super League Greece side
Aris until the end of the 2021–22 season.
Novara On 14 July 2022, Benalouane signed a one-year contract, with an option to extend, with
Novara in the Italian third-tier
Serie C. ==International career==