Emmanuel Petit has revealed what he told ‘miserable’ Hakim Ziyech about his Chelsea future prior to the World Cup.
Ziyech started just one of Chelsea’s 14 Premier League games before domestic football paused for the Qatar World Cup, failing to impress Thomas Tuchel or the German’s replacement Graham Potter.
Much was expected of Ziyech following his £36m move from Ajax in 2020 but the Morocco international has largely flattered to deceive at Stamford Bridge, leading to speculation he will move on next month.
Despite his struggles at Chelsea, Ziyech enjoyed a productive World Cup campaign, helping Morocco become the first African nation to reach the semi-finals before they were knocked out by eventual runners-up France.
Petit was glad to see Ziyech enjoy himself at the World Cup and has revealed what he told the 29-year-old before the Qatar tournament when he could tell he was ‘so miserable’ at Chelsea.
‘When Arsenal beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge before the World Cup [in early November], I was working on French television and was on the pitch when I saw Hakim Ziyech running on his own,’ Petit told Mega Casino.
‘During a break from filming I said to him: “Hakim, I don’t recognise you. Where is the player we know? Are you going to stay like this forever, sitting on the bench with terrible body language? You look so miserable.
“You need to come back to the player we saw at Ajax. You’re a world-class player, you need your confidence back. Do yourself a favour and fight. Don’t accept the critics’ reality.
“So many people have criticised you, you need to fight and show some pride. That is the definition of a sportsman. Show some more respect for yourself and don’t accept this situation. Fight.”
‘He had a difficult relationship with Morocco, but then everything went right at the World Cup. If you want to be a top player, you need to do things the right way.’
Ziyech will hope to get some domestic game-time when Chelsea return to action on December 27 against Bournemouth. The Blues lost three Premier League games in a row before the World Cup to slip to eighth in the table.
The winger has been strongly linked with a move to Italy in recent weeks and refused to rule out a January move when asked about his future during the World Cup.
‘It’s hard to say, difficult to say,’ Ziyech said. ‘We don’t know what will happen in the winter. It’s football, so it’s difficult to say.’
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