Ziyech’s Fall from Grace: Morocco’s Star Midfielder Faces Career Crossroads

Since the exploits of the Atlas Lions at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, Hakim Ziyech has only known a beautiful adventure. Arriving in Turkey in August 2023 following an unconcluded loan with PSG for administrative reasons, he is thriving with Galatasaray. After a good season (6 goals and 3 assists in 18 appearances), he decides to leave the club due to lack of playing time. He publicly expresses his anger against Okan Buruk: "I’ve never seen a coach of such a low level. I don’t really care. I want to be left alone. I regret coming here."

Qatar will be his next destination. He joins Al-Duhail last January, after a period of "two or three months" of inactivity at Galatasaray. But he has struggled to impose himself. "He is endearing on a human level. He is a very sensitive person with raw nerves. In training, he is capable of losing all his concentration over details, or when he feels frustrated by not touching the ball enough," says a club member. The Qatari adventure ends last June.

The Moroccan international mutually terminates his contract with Al Duhail, after only four months of collaboration. He scored one goal and provided one assist in 13 appearances, across all competitions. Since then, he is without a club. CFR Cluj tried to recruit him before canceling the transfer of the Moroccan player at the last minute. His medical examination revealed a chronic knee injury. This compromises his return to the national team, where Brahim Diaz has already replaced him.

"For now, Hakim has not joined any club, so he is obviously not eligible for selection," said Walid Regragui, coach of the Moroccan national team. "I hope he finds a solution and returns to his best level to apply for the national team. We want a 100% Hakim at the highest level. It’s also a matter of playing time. He is a star for us, a star for Morocco."

In the past, Ziyech was an exceptional player. The native of Dronten, Netherlands, played for Ajax between 2016 and 2020, under the orders of Peter Bosz, now coach at PSV. He played 165 matches and performed very well before joining Chelsea in a 40 million euro transfer. Before this adventure, he had played for Twente and Heerenveen, two Dutch clubs. When will the Lion’s renaissance come?