Leicester City winger Rachid Ghezzal has left the club to join Galatasaray in a £_-million deal on a _-year contract. Ghezzal joined Leicester in 2018 following the departure of Riyad Mahrez to Manchester City and was seen as an ideal replacement but things failed to work out as planned for the 29-year-old midfielder.
Galatasaray Sign Rachid Ghezzal From Leicester City
#lcfc can confirm that winger Rachid Ghezzal has signed a permanent deal with Turkish Süper Lig side Besiktas, subject to international clearance.
— Leicester City (@LCFC) August 12, 2021
Algerian International Joins Galatasaray
Leicester have agreed a deal with Turkish club Galatasaray for the transfer of Algerian midfielder Rachid Ghezzal. The player spent the 2020/21 season on loan at Galatasaray’s rivals Besiktas and they wanted to bring the player back on a permanent or loan deal but Galatasaray moved quickly to snatch the player from under their noses.
Besiktas Unhappy With Rivals’ Behaviour
Besiktas are unhappy with how the transfer unfolded and feel that this was nothing more than an attempt to unsettle rivals in a transfer pursuit, saying: “Out of all these players they [Galatasaray] decided to obsess over a footballer their rivals wanted. In this kind of market, with the debt problems we all face it is disappointing. Nobody wins from a transfer war, if this is how clubs are going to be run then what is the point.”
Ghezzal impressed on loan at Besiktas, helping the team to win the Turkish league and cup double, and losing out to their bitter rivals will leave a bad taste in the mouth for those involved with the Black-Whites. Ghezzal can expect a hostile reception playing against his former loan club in the future.
Ghezzal scored eight goals and created another 18 during his loan spell in the Turkish league in the 2020/21 season.
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