Corinthians announce signing of Moroccan Zakaria Labyad, see details | OneFootball

Corinthians has announced its sixth signing for the season. On Friday afternoon, Timão officially confirmed the signing of midfielder Zakaria Labyad. The 33-year-old Moroccan has signed a contract until the end of December 2026, with an automatic renewal until the end of 2027 if certain pre-established goals are met.

“ZAKARIA LABYAD IS THE NEW SIGNING FOR CORINTHIANS! The 33-year-old Moroccan midfielder joins the People’s Team with a contract until the end of this year. Welcome, Zakaria!” wrote the club on social media.

Labyad arrived at Corinthians on the recommendation of Memphis Depay, with whom he shared a locker room at PSV in the Netherlands.

The Moroccan is already training with the alvinegro squad and should soon be available to coach Dorival Júnior’s staff. He is currently undergoing physical reconditioning, as he hasn’t played a match in about three months.

Zakaria Labyad is Corinthians’ sixth reinforcement for the current season. Before the Moroccan, Timão also announced defender Gabriel Paulista, full-back Pedro Milans, midfielders Allan and Matheus Pereira, and forward Kaio César.

The alvinegro club has also renewed with Angileri and has a deal in place to sign goalkeeper João Ricardo on loan from Fortaleza. The goalkeeper is recovering from injury and, if he passes his medical exams, should soon sign with Corinthians.

Who is Zakaria Labyad?

Labyad began his career in 2010 at PSV. The midfielder took some time to find his place and, unable to establish himself as a starter, was transferred to Sporting in 2012.

After a promising start in Portuguese football, he was called up to the Moroccan national team but was unable to establish himself there either. In the following years, he had stints at Vitesse (Netherlands) and Fulham (England) before joining Utrecht (Netherlands) in 2017.

(Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians)

At the Dutch club, he experienced the best phase of his career. Between 2017 and 2018, he played 52 matches, scored 18 goals, and provided 12 assists, which led him to Ajax and earned him another call-up to the Moroccan national team.

However, he was unable to maintain the same performance, returned to Utrecht, and later moved to Chinese football. Throughout his career, he has played 359 matches, scored 81 goals, and provided 69 assists.

Controversial signing

The player’s arrival sparked controversy at Corinthians. In a press conference, coach Dorival Júnior said he did not request Zakaria’s signing. The Moroccan’s name was suggested by Memphis and Renan Bloise, head of the scouting department.

The professional evaluated the player and gave the green light to the football department, led by Marcelo Paz. However, the fact that the Moroccan was not requested by Dorival or recommended by Corinthians’ market analysts caused some surprise and put enormous pressure on Renan.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.