Rachid Ghezzal
Ghezzal with Beşiktaş in 2023
Personal information
Full name Rachid Ghezzal[1]
Date of birth (1992-05-09) 9 May 1992[2]
Place of birth Décines-Charpieu, France
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[3]
Position(s) Winger
Team information
Current team
 Beşiktaş
Number 18
Youth career
1998–2004 Vaulx-en-Velin
2004–2012 Lyon
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2017 Lyon B 54 (11)
2012–2017 Lyon 87 (11)
2017–2018 Monaco 26 (2)
2018–2021 Leicester City 19 (1)
2019–2020 → Fiorentina (loan) 19 (1)
2020–2021 → Beşiktaş (loan) 31 (8)
2021– Beşiktaş 59 (7)
International career‡
2013 France U20 4 (1)
2015– Algeria 22 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:50, 13 January 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:10, 12 June 2022 (UTC)

Rachid Ghezzal (Arabic: رشيد غزال; born 9 May 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Süper Lig club Beşiktaş. Born in France, he plays for the Algeria national team.[4]

He began his career at Lyon, where he made his debut in October 2012. He played 119 games and scored 13 goals for them across all competitions. In August 2017, he moved to Monaco on a free transfer. After a season at Monaco, he was sold to Leicester as a replacement for Riyad Mahrez. Ghezzal failed to nail down a first-team spot at Leicester in his first season, leading him to go on loan to Fiorentina in his second season and Besiktas in his third. He signed permanently for Besiktas in 2021. In December 2023, he was excluded from the first-team at Besiktas.[5]

Born in France, Ghezzal represented France at under-20 level. He made his senior debut for Algeria in 2015 and was part of their squad at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.

Club career

Lyon

Born in Décines-Charpieu, Metropolitan Lyon, in July 2010 Ghezzal signed a five-year élite contract with Lyon.[6] After featuring with the club's reserve team in the Championnat de France Amateur for two consecutive seasons, ahead of the 2012–13 season, he was promoted to the senior team by manager Rémi Garde and assigned the number 31 shirt. Ghezzal made his senior team debut on 4 October 2012 in a UEFA Europa League group stage away match against Israeli club Ironi Kiryat Shmona; he started the match as Lyon won the contest 4–3.[7]

In the 2013–14 season, Ghezzal suffered a back injury for the first six months of Lyon's campaign, which saw him out of action until 10 January 2014, missing 32 of Lyon's games in the process. He then returned to the squad but did not make any appearances for Lyon for the rest of the season; either being not named in match day squads or being named on the bench. Since January 2016, he had been playing regularly. He finished the 2015–16 season with 8 goals and 8 assists in 29 Ligue 1 matches.[8] In June 2017, Lyon announced that Ghezzal's contract would not be renewed.[9][10]

Monaco

On 7 August 2017, Ghezzal joined fellow Ligue 1 team Monaco by signing a four-year contract that would run until June 2021. It was reported that Monaco would pay him a signing bonus of €3 million and a monthly salary of about €180,000.[11] As his Lyon contract had expired on 30 June 2017, he arrived on a free transfer.[12][13]

Leicester City

On 5 August 2018, Ghezzal signed for English Premier League club Leicester City as a direct replacement for outgoing fellow countryman Riyad Mahrez, signing a four-year deal.[14] In his first start for the club, he scored his first Leicester goal, a long range strike from outside the box, in a 4–0 win over Fleetwood Town.[15]

Fiorentina (loan)

On 2 September 2019, Ghezzal was loaned to Italian Serie A side ACF Fiorentina on a season-long deal that included an option to buy.[16]

Beşiktaş (loan)

On 5 September 2020, Ghezzal joined Turkish Süper Lig club Beşiktaş on a season-long loan.[17][18] On 15 May 2021, he scored a penalty in a 2–1 away win over Göztepe, to secure the 2020–21 Süper Lig title for Beşiktaş.[19]

Beşiktaş

On 12 August 2021, Beşiktaş announced the signing of Ghezzal from Leicester City on a three-year deal.[20]

On 11 December 2023, it was officially announced that Ghezzal has been excluded from the squad along with Vincent Aboubakar, Valentin Rosier, Eric Bailly and Jean Onana due to poor performance and incompatibility within the team.[21]

On 6 January 2024, Ghezzal has been pardoned and included in the squad for the upcoming game against Kasımpaşa.[22]

International career

At international senior level, Ghezzal was eligible to represent both France and Algeria and had stated his preference is to represent the latter nation.[4] In 2013, he received the call from France U20 to compete in the Toulon Tournament.[23] However, Ghezzal later chose to play for Algeria, scoring his first goal in March 2016 against Ethiopia.[8]

Philanthropy

On 9 December 2018, Ghezzal appeared on a Sport dans la Ville digital philanthropy card. The digital philanthropy card featured the French non-profit, serving disadvantaged kids through sports and job training.[24] It was his tribute to the organization of which he was part until the age of 12 years.[25] During a meeting on 31 December 2013 with young members of Sport dans la Ville, Rachid explained the time he spent with Sport dans la Ville allowed him to reach the status of professional player.[26]

Personal life

He's the younger brother of Algerian international Abdelkader Ghezzal.[27]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 24 August 2022[28][29]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Lyon 2012–13 Ligue 1 14110104[lower-alpha 1]0–201
2013–14 Ligue 1 00000000–00
2014–15 Ligue 1 18020102[lower-alpha 1]0–230
2015–16 Ligue 1 29822204[lower-alpha 2]01[lower-alpha 3]03810
2016–17 Ligue 1 262100011[lower-alpha 4]100383
Total 871162402111011914
Monaco 2017–18 Ligue 1 26220304[lower-alpha 2]0–352
Leicester City 2018–19 Premier League 191113100–233
Fiorentina (loan) 2019–20 Serie A 19120–––211
Beşiktaş (loan) 2020–21 Süper Lig 31840–00–358
Beşiktaş 2021–22 Süper Lig 35430–5[lower-alpha 2]100435
2022–23 Süper Lig 2200–––22
Total 6814700051008015
Career total 219291831013021027835
  1. 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. 1 2 3 Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  3. ↑ Appearance in Trophée des Champions
  4. ↑ Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, six appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 12 June 2022[30]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Algeria 201530
201641
201760
201830
201900
202000
202131
202230
Total222
Scores and results list Algeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ghezzal goal.[29]
List of international goals scored by Rachid Ghezzal
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
123 March 2016Stade Mustapha Tchaker, Blida, Algeria Ethiopia6–07–12017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
225 March 2021National Heroes Stadium, Lusaka, Zambia Zambia1–03–32021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

Honours

Lyon Reserves

Beşiktaş

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Rachid Ghezzal". Turkish Football Federation. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  2. ↑ "Rachid Ghezzal: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  3. ↑ "Rachid Ghezzal". Leicester City F.C. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Rachid Ghezzal: "Je choisirai l'Algérie"". Le Buteur (in French). 20 August 2010. Archived from the original on 15 August 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  5. ↑ "Bailly among five players excluded by Besiktas". BBC Sport. 11 December 2023.
  6. ↑ "Rachid Ghezzal signe un contrat Elite à l'OL". DZFoot (in French). 7 July 2010. Archived from the original on 10 December 2010. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  7. ↑ "Lyon leave it late to see off Kiryat Shmona". Union of European Football Associations. 4 October 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  8. 1 2 Jamieson, Stuart (24 May 2016). "Who is Sunderland target Rachid Ghezzal? Why Lyon star is attracting so much attention". Evening Chronicle. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  9. ↑ "Transfer news: Lyon sign Mendy but lose Ghezzal". Goal. 29 June 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  10. ↑ Miller, Nick (28 June 2017). "Free agents XI: the best out-of-contract bargains available this summer". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  11. ↑ "Transferts : Rachid Ghezzal (Lyon) file vers Monaco". L'Équipe. 4 August 2017.
  12. ↑ Okeleji, Oluwashina (7 August 2017). "French champions Monaco sign Algerian winger Rachid Ghezzal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  13. ↑ "Rachid Ghezzal a signé à Monaco". L'Équipe. 7 August 2017.
  14. ↑ "Leicester City sign winger Rachid Ghezzal from AS Monaco". Leicester City F.C. 5 August 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  15. ↑ "Leicester 4-0 Fleetwood: Rachid Ghezzal strike caps off Foxes stroll". Sky Sports. 28 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  16. ↑ "Ghezzal e' un nuovo calciatore viola" [Ghezzal is a new Viola footballer] (in Italian). ACF Fiorentina. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  17. ↑ "Rachid Ghezzal Signs For Beşiktaş On Loan". Leicester City. 5 October 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  18. ↑ "Rachid Ghezzal, Beşiktaş'ta". Beşiktaş (in Turkish). 5 October 2020.
  19. ↑ "KLİP: Tarihi sezonun kralı Beşiktaş!". beIN SPORTS (in Turkish). 15 May 2021.
  20. ↑ "Yuvana Hoş Geldin Rachid Ghezzal". bjk.com.tr. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  21. ↑ "Kulübümüzden Bilgilendirme". Beşiktaş J.K. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  22. ↑ "Beşiktaş'ta kadro dışı bırakılan 5 isimden biri olan Rachid Ghezzal affedildi". Türkiye Gazetesi. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  23. ↑ "Tournoi de Toulon : Rachid Ghezzal sélectionné avec l'équipe de France des U-20". Djazairess (in French). 17 May 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  24. ↑ Noémie, Vincent (27 May 2019). "La première carte de philanthropie numérique lancée sur philropy". Sport dans la Ville (In French).
  25. ↑ Tapissier, David (7 June 2019). "Sport dans la ville : Rachid Ghezzal comme porte-drapeau". Le Progres (In French). Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  26. ↑ Madelon, Joseph (31 January 2013). "Rachid Ghezzal retrouve Sport dans la Ville". OL Foundation (In French).
  27. ↑ Yokhin, Michael (24 January 2017). "Arsenal could pounce on Rachid Ghezzal's Lyon conundrum". ESPN FC.
  28. ↑ "Rachid Ghezzal L'EQUIPE Profile". L'Equipe. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  29. 1 2 "R. Ghezzal". Soccerway. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  30. ↑ "Rachid Ghezzal". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  31. ↑ SABAH, DAILY (27 October 2021). "Champion Beşiktaş sweeps Fotomaç "Süper Lig Best of the Best" awards". Daily Sabah. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  32. ↑ "Süper Lig". Sofascore. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  33. ↑ Süper Lig 2020/2021 Sezonu Altın 11’i, retrieved 24 September 2023
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