Galatasaray has confirmed in a statement that Chelsea have let Hakim Ziyech leave the club on a free transfer despite the player still having a year remaining on his contract at Stamford Bridge.

Ziyech, 31, spent last season on loan with the Turkish team after a temporary deal with an obligation to make the move permanent was agreed. The Morocco international made 23 appearances across all competitions, scoring eight goals and assisting another four.

It was a stop-start season for the attacking midfielder because of separate foot and ankle injuries. The latter happened during a match at the Africa Cup of Nations.

But as agreed last summer, the move has been made permanent free of charge. Galatasaray also did not pay a loan fee, either. But they did pay €3,587,500 (£3,040,925) in wages last season. That salary has now dropped to €2,850,000 (£2,415,532) for the upcoming campaign, around €54,800 (£46,450) each week.

It seems like the player has only signed a one-year contract with an option for another year based on unspecified conditions. In a statement, Galatasaray said: “The definitive transfer of professional football player Hakim Ziyech was realised free of charge, as the conditions for the free purchase option in the temporary transfer agreement were met.

“To the football player; A net seasonal fee of 2,850,000 Euros will be paid for the 2024-2025 season. In addition, in accordance with the agreement, if the conditional extension option is realized, the football player will be paid a net seasonal salary of 2,850,000 Euros for the 2025-2026 season.”

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Ziyech will receive the same wages for that season if it kicks in. The move comes four years after Chelsea paid £33.4million to Ajax in the summer of 2020.

Ziyech has yet to comment on confirmation of the move but spoke out against the club in an interview with Voetbal International. “We had three teams there with top players. At a certain point, we run out of patience. A selection with 40 players for one team is simply far too much and is asking for problems.

“Pff, Chelsea, we can talk about that for a long time. But the conclusion is that things did not turn out as we had hoped. It was a period full of coaching changes, nagging with the club management, a departure to Paris Saint-Germain that did not happen at the last minute and it was disappointing in terms of football.”