Without a club since leaving Qatar
©IMAGO
This text first appeared on October 22nd and was revised after the official announcement.
After months without a club, Hakim Ziyech has found a new employer and signed a contract with Wydad Casablanca. The former Chelsea professional is going to his family’s country. The club did not provide any information about the length of the 32-year-old winger’s contract.
For the Botola Pro, where Casablanca last won the championship title in 2022, Ziyech will be the most valuable addition in league history – a coup for Wydad. It is extremely unusual for former international stars to move to the league co-hosting the 2030 World Cup.
Only a few of the current Moroccan football greats in leagues outside the North African country have ever played club football in Morocco. Among them is the current Marseille and former West Ham professional Nayef Aguerd, who learned to play football in Rabat and generated transfers of more than 60 million euros during his career. Former Sevilla goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, for whom Al-Hilal paid 21 million euros two years ago, also comes from a Moroccan club – Ziyech’s future employer Wydad.
A total of almost 55 million euros was paid for Ziyech. Chelsea alone paid Ajax Amsterdam 40 million euros in 2020. This makes the right winger the second most expensive Moroccan in football history. Only Achraf Hakimi cost more to change clubs, but twice. Until last summer, Ziyech was under contract with Al-Duhail in Qatar for six months. As with Galatasaray, the contract was terminated early.
The former Champions League winner (2021 with Chelsea under Thomas Tuchel) only appeared on the field 13 times for Al-Duhail and contributed one goal and one assist. The championship in the Qatar Stars League was narrowly missed behind Al-Sadd.