Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech should make the move to Saudi Arabia if it is offered to him, and not concern himself with what others may think of the transfer.
That’s according to Ali Boussaboun, who also played in the Middle East for Al-Wakrah in Qatar and Al Nasr in the United Arab Emirates and believes the Chelsea man should jump at the opportunity.
Ziyech is believed to be on the very of joining Al Nassr this summer as Saudi Arabia step up their efforts to sign big names from around Europe.
They’ve already shopped at Chelsea by securing a deal for Ziyech’s teammate Kalidou Koulibaly, who completed a move to Al-Hilal yesterday.
Ziyech is expected to follow him post-haste in a deal that will be welcomed by Chelsea as they look to balance the books following their extravagant spending in the last two transfer windows.
The move is being questioned by many, though, who believe players should be seriously questioning any move to the country given the human rights issues there and the quality of the league in comparison to those on offer in Europe.
Boussaboun believes Ziyech should ignore all of that, though, and instead take the huge amounts of money on offer before returning to the Netherlands in a few years’ time.
“We are bread-and-butter footballers. We also have children and families. I recognise that, you have a lot of responsibility,” he said.
“Of course, he will cave in in prestige. He knows that too. On the other hand, he has already achieved everything. Champions League, Premier League, World Cup, Africa Cup. He has done everything there is to do. Not that Ziyech hasn’t earned enough before, but these are sums you can’t refuse.
“Let’s say he will earn €75 million net in three years. Then he will still be 32 (33, ed.) and he can always return to the Netherlands. We must not forget that this is his career.
“We also play football to earn money. If I had been in his shoes, I would also have looked at what possibilities there were. If there was no club among them that I would want to go to in terms of size and level, then I do understand that he will cash in.
“I know the national coach (Walid Regragui) and I know how enamoured he is with Ziyech. We should not pretend that the difference between the Saudi league and the Eredivisie is so big.
“We want to make that mistake quickly. There are many players who people would have liked to see play in Europe, but who are not viable because they choose the big money. It’s really not a Mickey Mouse competition. We should not underestimate it.”
