Ronaldo's team refused to buy Ziyech at the last minute

Al Nassr's deal to buy Hakim Ziyech from Chelsea fell through due to a discovery during the medical examination.

Al Nassr discovered that Ziyech had a problem with his knee. Previously, according to the Daily Mail on June 30, the two sides also disagreed on some personal terms. If the transfer is successful, Al Nassr will pay Chelsea a transfer fee of 10 million USD and give Ziyech a salary of 11 million USD per year.

The Al Nassr bust-up is Ziyech's second transfer failure in six months. In January, a move to PSG collapsed after Chelsea failed to complete the paperwork.

Ziyech (left) played just 24 games and did not score any goals for Chelsea in the 2022-2023 season. Photo: Alamy — Ziyech (left) played just 24 games and did not score any goals for Chelsea in the 2022-2023 season. Photo: *Alamy*

Ziyech joined Chelsea from Ajax for $30 million in 2020. Last season, the Moroccan winger played only 24 games for the Stamford Bridge team. Most of those were as a substitute. Ziyech has two years left on his contract.

This summer, Chelsea sold Kai Havertz, Kalidou Koulibaly, Edouard Mendy, Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mason Mount, and released Tiemoue Bakayoko and N'Golo Kante. The team finished 12th in the Premier League last season and earned about $265 million. Chelsea also wants to sell Aubameyang, Christian Pulisic and Romelu Lukaku.

In the opposite direction, coach Mauricio Pochettino recruited Christopher Nkunku from Leipzig and Nicolas Jackson from Villarreal. The total transfer fee for the two strikers was 106 million.

Meanwhile, Al Nassr have reached an agreement to buy Marcelo Brozovic from Inter. The 30-year-old Croatian midfielder ignored interest from Barca to join Saudi Arabia. Last season, Brozovic and Inter reached the Champions League final, finished third in Serie A, won the Italian Cup and the Italian Super Cup.

Al Nassr have bolstered their squad to support Cristiano Ronaldo. Last season they finished second in the Saudi Pro League behind Al Ittihad, despite Ronaldo scoring 14 goals in 16 games. This summer, Al Ittihad have signed Karim Benzema and Kante. Another Saudi team, Al Hilal, have bought Koulibaly and Ruben Neves.

Thanh Quy (according to Daily Mail )

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