Zelimkhan Bakayev

This article is about Russian football player. For Russian-Chechen singer Zelimkhan Khoussainovich Bakaev, see Zelim Bakaev.

In this name that follows East Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Dzhabrailovich and the family name is Bakayev.

Zelimkhan Dzhabrailovich Bakayev (Russian: Зелимхан Джабраилович Бакаев; born 1 July 1996) is a Russian footballer who plays as a midfielder.

Zelimkhan Bakayev

Bakayev with Zenit in 2022
Personal information
Full name	Zelimkhan Dzhabrailovich Bakayev
Date of birth	(1996-07-01) 1 July 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth	Nazran, Ingushetia, Russia
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
2007–2016	Spartak Moscow
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014–2018	Spartak-2 Moscow	52	(4)
2015–2022	Spartak Moscow	81	(7)
2018–2019	→ Arsenal Tula (loan)	25	(8)
2022–2025	Zenit Saint Petersburg	21	(1)
2023–2024	→ Al Wahda (loan)	19	(1)
2024–2025	→ Khimki (loan)	25	(4)
International career‡
2016–2018	Russia U21	15	(6)
2019–	Russia	15	(2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 25 March 2025

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.^[2]

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.^[3] He made his Russian Premier League debut for Spartak on 23 July 2017 as a starter in a game against FC Ufa.^[4]

On 1 August 2018, he joined FC Arsenal Tula on loan for the 2018–19 season.^[5]

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.^[6] 3 days later, he scored his first two Russian Premier League goals for Spartak in a 3–1 victory over FC Akhmat Grozny.^[7]

Bakayev left Spartak as a free agent on 1 June 2022.^[8]

On 15 June 2022, Bakayev signed a contract with FC Zenit Saint Petersburg for three years with an option for the fourth year.^[9]

On 19 September 2023, Bakayev was loaned to Emirati club Al Wahda for a season.^[10]

On 2 August 2024, Bakayev moved on loan to Khimki.^[11]

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.^[12] 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.^[13]

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.^[14]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 17 May 2025

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Continental		Other		Total
		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
	2015–16	Russian First League	10	1	–		–		–		–		10	1
	2016–17	Russian First League	31	0	–		–		–		4[a]	1	35	1
	2017–18	Russian First League	10	3	–		–		–		–		10	3
	Total		52	4	0	0	–		0	0	4	1	56	5
Spartak Moscow	2015–16	Russian Premier League	0	0	2	0	–		–		–		2	0
	2017–18	Russian Premier League	5	0	1	0	–		0	0	0	0	6	0
	2019–20	Russian Premier League	27	6	4	1	–		4[b]	3	–		35	10
	2020–21	Russian Premier League	23	1	3	0	–		–		–		26	1
	2021–22	Russian Premier League	26	0	3	2	–		7[c]	1	–		36	3
	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[d]	0	25	2
	2023–24	Russian Premier League	4	0	3	0	—		—		1[d]	0	8	0
	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	25	4	3	2	—		—		—		28	6
Career total			223	25	30	6	5	0	11	4	6	1	275	36

1. Appearances in the FNL Cup
2. Appearances in the UEFA Europa League
3. Two appearances in the UEFA Champions League, five appearances, one goal in the UEFA Europa League
4. Appearances in the Russian Super Cup

International

As of match played 25 March 2025

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Russia	2019	3	0
	2020	3	0
	2021	6	1
	2022	1	0
	2025	2	1
Total		15	2

Scores and results list Russia's goal tally first.^[15]

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^[16]
• Russian Super Cup: 2017^[17]

Zenit St. Petersburg

• Russian Premier League: 2022–23^[18]
• Russian Super Cup: 2022,^[19] 2023^[20]

Al Wahda

• UAE League Cup: 2023–24

Personal life

His younger brother Soltmurad Bakayev is also a footballer.^[21] Bakayev is an ethnic Ingush.