Chelsea star open to Al-Nassr move as ‘he’d join Cristiano Ronaldo’, says Romano

Chelsea star Hakim Ziyech wants Al-Nassr move to play with Cristiano Ronaldo

Hakim Ziyech is apparently open to moving to Al-Nassr in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as he would have the chance to play alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.

This is according to Fabrizio Romano, who says that the Saudi club’s talks with the Moroccan playmaker are progressing well. He also added that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is yet to strike a personal agreement with any Saudi club.

Coming back to Ziyech, he has become a player who has long seemed like he would be better off elsewhere. We took a gamble on him when we signed him from Ajax in July 2020 when he was 27.

Cristiano Ronaldo is now at Al-Nassr.
Cristiano Ronaldo is now at Al-Nassr. (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)

He showed glimpses of brilliance for the Dutch side but there were no assurances he would be a good fit for the highly competitive and physical Premier League. Over the past three seasons, he has been underwhelming.

What next for Ziyech and Chelsea?

He played under 930 minutes of football across competitions for us last season despite being a big part of Morocco’s team that finished fourth in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He is now 30.

Ziyech doesn’t have long if he wants to rekindle his career and still give his best on the pitch. A move to Al-Nassr can be seen by many as the player foregoing the chance to make himself a star player in Europe.

But the financial incentives Saudi clubs have been offering players recently make them an attractive destination. Ziyech can soon find himself rubbing shoulders with Cristiano Ronaldo in Al-Nassr’s attack.

More Chelsea News

His contract expires in June 2025 (Transfermarkt) and we must ensure we get rid of him before he enters the final year of his deal. It would be a massive surprise if Mauricio Pochettino sees a future for the former Ajax star here, given his age and lack of consistency in previous seasons.