.jpg) Ghezzal withBeşiktaş in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rachid Ghezzal[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1992-05-09)9 May 1992 (age 33)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Décines-Charpieu,France | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[3] | ||
| Position | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Lyon | ||
| Number | 18 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1998–2004 | Vaulx-en-Velin | ||
| 2004–2012 | Lyon | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010–2017 | Lyon B | 54 | (11) |
| 2012–2017 | Lyon | 87 | (11) |
| 2017–2018 | Monaco | 26 | (2) |
| 2018–2021 | Leicester City | 19 | (1) |
| 2019–2020 | →Fiorentina (loan) | 19 | (1) |
| 2020–2021 | →Beşiktaş (loan) | 31 | (8) |
| 2021–2024 | Beşiktaş | 73 | (7) |
| 2024–2025 | Çaykur Rizespor | 23 | (4) |
| 2025– | Lyon | 6 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2013 | France U20 | 4 | (1) |
| 2015–2022 | Algeria | 22 | (2) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:03, 9 November 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:10, 12 June 2022 (UTC) | |||
Rachid Ghezzal (Arabic:رَشِيد غَزَال; born 9 May 1992) is an Algerian professionalfootballer who plays as awinger forLigue 1 clubLyon. Born in France, he represents theAlgeria national football team.[4]
He began his career atLyon, where he made his debut in October 2012. He played 119 games and scored 13 goals for them across all competitions. In August 2017, he moved toMonaco on a free transfer. After a season at Monaco, he was sold to Leicester as a replacement forRiyad Mahrez. Ghezzal failed to nail down a first-team spot at Leicester in his first season, leading him to go on loan to Fiorentina in his second season and Besiktas in his third. He signed permanently for Besiktas in 2021. In December 2023, he was excluded from the first-team at Besiktas.[5]
Ghezzal represented France atunder-20 level. He made his senior debut forAlgeria in 2015 and was part of their squad at the2017 Africa Cup of Nations.
Born inDécines-Charpieu,Metropolitan Lyon, in July 2010 Ghezzal signed a five-yearélite contract withLyon.[6] After featuring with the club's reserve team in theChampionnat de France Amateur for two consecutive seasons, ahead of the2012–13 season, he was promoted to the senior team by managerRémi Garde and assigned the number 31 shirt. Ghezzal made his senior team debut on 4 October 2012 in aUEFA Europa League group stage away match against Israeli clubIroni Kiryat Shmona; he started the match as Lyon won the contest 4–3.[7]
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.[citation needed] He finished the 2015–16 season with 8 goals and 8 assists in 29 Ligue 1 matches.[8] In June 2017, Lyon announced that Ghezzal's contract would not be renewed.[9][10]
On 7 August 2017, Ghezzal joined fellow Ligue 1 teamMonaco by signing a four-year contract that would run until June 2021. It was reported that Monaco would pay him asigning bonus of €3 million and a monthly salary of about €180,000.[11] As his Lyon contract had expired on 30 June 2017, he arrived on a free transfer.[12][13]
On 5 August 2018, Ghezzal signed for EnglishPremier League clubLeicester City as a direct replacement for outgoing fellow countryman Riyad Mahrez, signing a four-year deal.[14] 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 overFleetwood Town.[15]
On 2 September 2019, Ghezzal was loaned to ItalianSerie A sideACF Fiorentina on a season-long deal that included an option to buy.[16]
On 5 September 2020, Ghezzal joined TurkishSüper Lig clubBeşiktaş on a season-long loan.[17][18] On 15 May 2021, he scored a penalty in a 2–1 away win overGöztepe, to secure the2020–21 Süper Lig title for Beşiktaş.[19]
On 12 August 2021,Beşiktaş announced the signing of Ghezzal fromLeicester City on a three-year deal.[20]
On 11 December 2023, it was officially announced that Ghezzal has been excluded from the squad along withVincent Aboubakar,Valentin Rosier,Eric Bailly andJean Onana due to poor performance and incompatibility within the team.[21]
On 6 January 2024, Ghezzal has been pardoned and included in the squad for the upcoming game againstKasımpaşa.[22]
On 2 June 2024, Ghezzal announced his farewell to Beşiktaş with a post on his social media account.[23]
On 5 September 2025,Lyon announced the return of Ghezzal to the club on a free transfer. He signed a one-year contract withLes Gones until June 2026 and will take on the role of supporting the club's young players.[24]
At international senior level, Ghezzal was eligible to represent bothFrance andAlgeria and had stated his preference is to represent the latter nation.[4] In 2013, he received the call fromFrance U20 to compete in theToulon Tournament.[25] However, Ghezzal later chose to play for Algeria, scoring his first goal in March 2016 against Ethiopia.[8]
On 9 December 2018, Ghezzal appeared on a Sport dans la Ville digital philanthropy card. The digital philanthropy card featured the French non-profit, serving disadvantaged kids through sports and job training.[26] It was his tribute to the organization of which he was part until the age of 12 years.[27] During a meeting on 31 December 2013 with young members of Sport dans la Ville, Rachid explained the time he spent with Sport dans la Ville allowed him to reach the status of professional player.[28]
He's the younger brother of Algerian internationalAbdelkader Ghezzal.[29]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Lyon | 2012–13 | Ligue 1 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | – | 20 | 1 | |
| 2013–14 | Ligue 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | Ligue 1 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | – | 23 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | Ligue 1 | 29 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4[d] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 38 | 10 | |
| 2016–17 | Ligue 1 | 26 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11[f] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 3 | |
| Total | 87 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 119 | 14 | ||
| Monaco | 2017–18 | Ligue 1 | 26 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4[d] | 0 | – | 35 | 2 | |
| Leicester City | 2018–19 | Premier League | 19 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 23 | 3 | |
| Fiorentina (loan) | 2019–20 | Serie A | 19 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | 21 | 1 | |||
| Beşiktaş (loan) | 2020–21 | Süper Lig | 31 | 8 | 4 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 35 | 8 | ||
| Beşiktaş | 2021–22 | Süper Lig | 35 | 4 | 3 | 0 | – | 5[d] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 5 | |
| 2022–23 | Süper Lig | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 11 | 2 | ||||
| 2023–24 | Süper Lig | 27 | 1 | 5 | 1 | – | 2[g] | 0 | – | 34 | 2 | |||
| Total | 104 | 15 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 123 | 17 | ||
| Rizespor | 2024–25 | Süper Lig | 23 | 4 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | 25 | 4 | |||
| Lyon | 2025–26 | Ligue 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1[c] | 0 | – | 7 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 284 | 34 | 25 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 33 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 353 | 41 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Algeria | 2015 | 3 | 0 |
| 2016 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2017 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 3 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 22 | 2 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 March 2016 | Stade Mustapha Tchaker,Blida, Algeria |  Ethiopia | 6–0 | 7–1 | 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 2 | 25 March 2021 | National Heroes Stadium,Lusaka, Zambia |  Zambia | 1–0 | 3–3 | 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
Lyon Reserves
Beşiktaş
Individual
