- Ajax organised a dramatic farewell ceremony for Ziyech ahead of the playmaker's impending move to Chelsea.
- The 27-year-old was shown a series of clips and messages, with many of his teammates passing on their best wishes.
- However, it was the message from his mother that tugged most at Ziyech's heartstrings, with the Moroccan breaking down into tears.
- 'I love you and I am proud of you,' said his mother.
- He recalled the hardships his mother had to go through to raise him following the death of his father.
Ajax organised a grand farewell ceremony to give Hakim Ziyech an emotional sending-off ahead of the playmaker's impending summer switch to Chelsea, with several current and former teammates passing on their best wishes to the 27-year-old as he looks forward to arguably the biggest move of his career.
Ziyech was brought to the Tuschinski theatre in Amsterdam where he was shown a series of clips and messages and it was the emotional quotes from his mother that tugged the most at his heartstrings, so much so that he couldn't resist his tears.
"I’m really happy for you that you will go to London," she said.
"Do you best, take good care, and behave like a gentleman. I love you and I am proud of you. Good luck in London."
Ziyech broke down into tears but he somehow composed himself and replied: "Of course, I know what I’m doing it for. It’s the words your mother often says to you. My mother.
"She’s a proud woman. I can see that she’s proud although she tries to hide it. Just knowing the hard life that she’s had, you know.
"She came here at a young age, raised nine kids. Eight or nine. Lost her husband too soon. And then you’re on your own. It’s all for her. I do it because I love it, but it’s all for her. If it wasn’t for her, I’d have quit football a long time ago."
Ziyech wasn't one of those footballers born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Born to parents of Moroccan descent in a small town named Dronten in the Netherlands, he grew up as the youngest of eight siblings in a poor family.
Calamity struck when Ziyech lost his father, who was the sole bread-earner of the family, at the age of 10 and then it was up to his mother to somehow make ends meet and raise her children.
The playmaker even got involved in illegal activities, selling drugs, in particular, and avoided prison five times, before he found a mentor in Aziz Doufikar, the first Moroccan professional in the Dutch football, and took up football seriously.
Ziyech initially rose through the youth ranks at Heerenveen and made a name for himself at FC Twente before earning a move to Ajax in 2016, and the rest, as they call it, is history.
Hence, it is not difficult to comprehend why Ziyech broke down into tears upon hearing the emotional farewell message from his mother.
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