Algerian footballer

Rachid Ghezzal (Arabic: رشيد غزال; born 9 May 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Süper Lig club Beşiktaş and the Algeria national team.

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 compe*ions. In August 2017, he moved to Monaco on a free transfer.

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

Contents

• 1 Club career
  • 1.1 Lyon
  • 1.2 Monaco
  • 1.3 Leicester City
    • 1.3.1 Fiorentina (loan)
    • 1.3.2 Beşiktaş (loan)
  • 1.4 Beşiktaş
• 2 International career
• 3 Philanthropy
• 4 Personal life
• 5 Career statistics
  • 5.1 Club
  • 5.2 International
• 6 Honours
• 7 References
• 8 External links

Club career

Lyon

Born in Décines-Charpieu, Metropolitan Lyon, in July 2010 Ghezzal signed a five-year élite contract with Lyon. 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 *igned 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.

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 *ists in 29 Ligue 1 matches. In June 2017, Lyon announced that Ghezzal's contract would not be renewed.

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. As his Lyon contract had expired on 30 June 2017, he arrived on a free transfer.

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. 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.

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.

Beşiktaş (loan)

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

Beşiktaş

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

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. In 2013, he received the call from France U20 to compete in the Toulon Tournament. However, Ghezzal later chose to play for Algeria, scoring his first goal in March 2016 against Ethiopia.

Philanthropy

On 9 December 2018, Ghezzal partnered with Phil Ropy and appeared on the Sport dans la Ville digital philanthropy card. The digital philanthropy card features French non-profit, serving disadvantaged kids through sports and job training. This partnership is his tribute to the organization of which he was part until the age of 12 years. During his meeting on 31 December 2013 with young members of Sport dans la Ville, Rachid described the time he spent with Sport dans la Ville allowed him to reach the status of a professional player. The card was released on 23 April 2019. The money from the card's purchase price is shared by Ropy with the Sport dans la Ville.

Personal life

He has an older brother of Algerian international Abdelkader Ghezzal.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 15 May 2022

International

As of match played 29 March 2022Scores and results list Algeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ghezzal goal.

Honours

Lyon Reserves

• Championnat de France Amateur: 2010–11, 2011–12

Beşiktaş

• Süper Lig: 2020–21
• Turkish Cup: 2020–21
• Turkish Super Cup: 2021

Individual

• Süper Lig Top *ist Provider: 2020–21 (17 *ists)

References

External links

• Rachid Ghezzal at the French Football Federation (in French)
• Rachid Ghezzal at the French Football Federation (archived) (in French)
• Rachid Ghezzal – French league stats at LFP – also available in French
• Rachid Ghezzal at L'Équipe Football (in French)
• Rachid Ghezzal – UEFA compe*ion record (archive):