Yassir Zabiri’s sensational start to the season has caught the attention of French newspaper L’Équipe, which devoted an extensive article to the Moroccan striker on Monday, highlighting his resurgence at Racing Santander.
The French newspaper has been impressed by Zabiri’s explosive start to the season. Currently on loan from Stade Rennais to Racing Santander in La Liga, the talented forward is level with Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal in the scoring charts.
L’Équipe says the Atlas Lion is “lighting up the season of the newly promoted” Spanish side after “a failed half-season with Rennes,” where he played just 42 minutes across six matches without scoring.
The newspaper also notes that Zabiri is currently the most prolific player under contract with Rennes, as Estéban Lepaul has scored four goals and his backup, Boulaye Dia, two, compared with the Moroccan’s seven.
“In Cantabria, on the Atlantic coast west of the Basque Country, the Morocco U20 World Cup winner from October 2025 is setting the scoring charts alight and found the net again against Valencia on Sunday (2-2). After his hat trick against Elche (3-2 on August 28), his brace against Alavés (2-1 on September 12) and his goal at Camp Nou (2-7 on September 16), Zabiri has scored as many goals in La Liga as Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal, although he remains behind the untouchable Raphinha (12 goals). Quite an achievement, especially for a newly promoted side that had not played in La Liga for 15 years, and one accomplished without taking a large number of shots,” the French newspaper writes.
L’Équipe then examines the young player’s statistics. He needed just 17 shots to score his seven goals, giving him a conversion rate of 41.2% and placing him third among players with at least five goals across Europe’s top five leagues. Opta highlighted the statistic on Sunday.
The newspaper then seeks to explain his lack of success in France. It says Zabiri arrived late, in January, at an unstable club. Coach Habib Beye left his position just days later. L’Équipe also points to the strong competition he faced from Estéban Lepaul and Breel Embolo. A loan move without a purchase option was subsequently considered.
Upon his arrival, Zabiri said, “In France, there are a lot of duels, but they don’t play together much, and that’s not my style. I really like Spain. Strikers score a lot here.” He set himself a target of 10 goals.
L’Équipe also praises his connection with playmaker Inigo Vicente, who has provided three assists. Speaking about Zabiri after Sunday’s match against Valencia, Vicente said, “It’s simple, he runs and I give him the ball.” The newspaper also highlights the “technical range” of the Marrakech-born striker, who trained at the Mohammed VI Football Academy, pointing to the right-footed curling shot he scored against Valencia.
“His strong start to the season earned him his first start for Morocco against Gabon in September (2-0), with next summer’s Africa Cup of Nations in his sights. Could we see him wearing the Rennes shirt again when his loan ends?” L’Équipe concludes.
