Hakim Ziyech given spine-tingling welcome by Galatasaray fans after Chelsea loan move

Hakim Ziyech was on Saturday given a spine-tingling welcome by 50,000 fans of Turkish side Galatasaray after completing a loan move from Chelsea.

The Moroccan winger was officially unveiled to the Galatasaray faithful after a 2-0 win home win over Trabzonspor. With the crowd already jubilant, Ziyech was unveiled while in the stands and led fans and fellow players in a deafening crescendo of a chant.

The 30-year-old's move from West London to Istanbul was announced by Chelsea on Saturday. The Istanbul club will pay a loan fee of 3.58million euros ($3.9 million) for Ziyech, with another 2.85million euros ($3.1 million) to be paid if the loan is made permanent at the end of the season.

🇲🇦😍 Hakim Ziyech just got announced in front of 50,000+ Galatasaray fans...

What a way to introduce yourself, special moment! (@beINSPORTS_TR) pic.twitter.com/0lLpGlS0Xf

— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) August 19, 2023

Ziyech was one of Morocco’s star players in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, as the Atlas Lions became the first Arabic-speaking or African nation to reach a World Cup semi-final. They only narrowly lost to Croatia in the third place playoff. 

Ziyech’s time at Chelsea was more disappointing, with the forward making 107 appearances in all competitions, scoring only six goals for the club.

Having fallen out of favour, the Netherlands-born attacker saw moves to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr fall through, with knee problems seeing him fail a medical at the Riyadh club.

Ziyech is one of the latest big-name signings made by Galatasaray, with the Turkish champions already having signed winger Wilfied Zaha from Crystal Palace and forward Mauro Icardi from PSG.