# Zelimkhan Bakayev

Zelimkhan Dzhabrailovich Bakayev (Russian: Зелимхан Джабраилович Бакаев; born 1 July 1996) is a Russian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Khimki on loan from Zenit Saint Petersburg.

## Club career

He made his debut in the Russian Professional Football League for FC Spartak-2 Moscow on 26 April 2014 in a game against FC Metallurg Vyksa.
He made his debut for the main squad of FC Spartak Moscow on 23 September 2015 in a Russian Cup game against FC Volga Nizhny Novgorod. He made his Russian Premier League debut for Spartak on 23 July 2017 as a starter in a game against FC Ufa.
On 1 August 2018, he joined FC Arsenal Tula on loan for the 2018–19 season.
Upon his return from loan, he scored his first two goals for Spartak on 8 August 2019 in an away Europa League qualifier against FC Thun. 3 days later, he scored his first two Russian Premier League goals for Spartak in a 3–1 victory over FC Akhmat Grozny.
Bakayev left Spartak as a free agent on 1 June 2022.
On 15 June 2022, Bakayev signed a contract with FC Zenit Saint Petersburg for three years with an option for the fourth year.
On 19 September 2023, Bakayev was loaned to Emirati club Al Wahda for a season.
On 2 August 2024, Bakayev moved on loan to Khimki.

## International

He was first called up to Russia national football team for UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying matches against San Marino and Cyprus in June 2019. He made his debut on 13 October 2019 in a Euro 2020 qualifier against Cyprus. He substituted Aleksei Ionov in the 78th minute and participated in one of the three goals Russia scored in the remaining time.
He scored his first international goal on 7 September 2021 in a World Cup qualifier against Malta, establishing the final score of 2–0 at home from the penalty spot.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 15 March 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | League cup | League cup | Continental | Continental | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Spartak-2 Moscow | 2013–14 | Russian Second League | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 0 |
| Spartak-2 Moscow | 2015–16 | Russian First League | 10 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10 | 1 |
| Spartak-2 Moscow | 2016–17 | Russian First League | 31 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | 1 | 35 | 1 |
| Spartak-2 Moscow | 2017–18 | Russian First League | 10 | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10 | 3 |
| Spartak-2 Moscow | Total | Total | 52 | 4 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 56 | 5 |
| Spartak Moscow | 2015–16 | Russian Premier League | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | 0 |
| Spartak Moscow | 2017–18 | Russian Premier League | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Spartak Moscow | 2019–20 | Russian Premier League | 27 | 6 | 4 | 1 | – | – | 4 | 3 | – | – | 35 | 10 |
| Spartak Moscow | 2020–21 | Russian Premier League | 23 | 1 | 3 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 26 | 1 |
| Spartak Moscow | 2021–22 | Russian Premier League | 26 | 0 | 3 | 2 | – | – | 7 | 1 | – | – | 36 | 3 |
| Spartak Moscow | Total | Total | 81 | 7 | 13 | 3 | – | – | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 105 | 14 |
| Arsenal Tula (loan) | 2018–19 | Russian Premier League | 25 | 8 | 4 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 29 | 8 |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | 2022–23 | Russian Premier League | 17 | 1 | 7 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | 25 | 2 |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | 2023–24 | Russian Premier League | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | Total | Total | 21 | 1 | 10 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 33 | 2 |
| Al Wahda | 2023–24 | UAE Pro League | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 1 |
| Khimki | 2024–25 | Russian Premier League | 18 | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 21 | 6 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 216 | 25 | 30 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 268 | 36 |
* ↑ Appearances in the FNL Cup
* ↑ Appearances in the UEFA Europa League
* ↑ Two appearances in the UEFA Champions League, five appearances, one goal in the UEFA Europa League
* 1 2 Appearances in the Russian Super Cup

### International

    As of match played 19 March 2025
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Russia | 2019 | 3 | 0 |
| Russia | 2020 | 3 | 0 |
| Russia | 2021 | 6 | 1 |
| Russia | 2022 | 1 | 0 |
| Russia | 2025 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | Total | 14 | 2 |
Scores and results list Russia's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1. | 7 September 2021 | Otkritie Arena, Moscow, Russia | Malta | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2. | 19 March 2025 | VTB Arena, Moscow, Russia | Grenada | 5–0 | 5–0 | Friendly |

## Honors
### Club

Spartak Moscow
* Russian Cup: 2021–22
* Russian Super Cup: 2017
Zenit St. Petersburg
* Russian Premier League: 2022–23
* Russian Super Cup: 2022, 2023
Al Wahda
* UAE League Cup: 2023–24

## Personal life

His younger brother Soltmurad Bakayev is also a footballer. Bakayev is an ethnic Ingush.