Chelsea wantaway Hakim Ziyech has taken aim at critics who claim he lacks fitness after seeing his move to Saudi side Al-Nassr collapse.
The Moroccan winger was thought to be on the verge of a move away from Stamford Bridge to join Cristiano Ronaldo in the Gulf state. It was suggested that the Blues were set to receive £8m for Ziyech’s services.
It was set to bring to an end an underwhelming three-year stay in West London for the 30-year-old forward following his £33m move from Ajax. Since then, he has made 107 appearances for Chelsea but has scored just 14 goals - only six of which have come in the Premier League.
His move to Al-Nassr has fallen apart though with the Saudi side referencing knee issues picked up in his medical. As a result, they have backed out of a deal.
That appears to have irritated Ziyech, who has taken to social media to dispute the claims. An image shared on his Instagram story show the wideman presumably in training with the caption: “Knee problems right??”
That is accompanied by a series of laughing emojis, with Ziyech’s frustration clearly on display. Meanwhile, GOAL report that the medical was not the reason that the move collapsed.
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It is detailed that Al-Nassr took their original offer off the table before attempting to offer him a lower pay-packet to the one that has already been agreed. Regardless, Ziyech has now seen a second Chelsea exit fall by the wayside.
He was previously on the verge of a loan move to Paris Saint-Germain in January. However, problems with the documents between the French giants and Chelsea saw Ligue 1 disapprove the move, forcing Ziyech to stay at Stamford Bridge.
He will now start the hunt for another potential move away from the Blues, having previously confirmed that he will be spearheading decisions on his future from now on. Writing in a statement last summer, he wrote: "I have reached a point in my life where I feel the time is right for me to take full control over my professional future.
"I want negotiations and decisions about my career to be made by me. So moving forward, my team and I, together with our legal representatives, will handle the business side of things.
"Professional interest should be directed to the contact info in my bio. I remain incredibly grateful for your continued support."
Ziyech has two years left to run on the original contract that he agreed with Chelsea following his move from Ajax. Should he leave, he would be the latest in a long line of players to leave Stamford Bridge.
Teammates Mateo Kovacic, Kai Havertz, N’Golo Kante, Kalidou Koulibaly, Edouard Mendy and Ruben Loftus-Cheek have all bid farewell, whilst Mason Mount is on the verge of completing a move to Manchester United.
