Rennes have confirmed the signing of striker Yassir Zabiri from Famalicao, with the Ligue 1 club paying a fee reported at around €10m, potentially rising by a further €2m through performance-related add-ons. The 20-year-old Moroccan has put pen to paper on a three-and-a-half-year contract, keeping him at the Roazhon Park until the summer of 2029. The move was completed on deadline day, 2 February 2026, capping a saga that had run for several months.
Rennes moved for Zabiri because they needed a young centre-forward after academy graduate Kader Meïté left to join Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia. Rather than opting for an experienced replacement, the club chose to bet on potential, having tracked Zabiri closely since his form for Morocco at Under-20 level took off. Benfica had also shown interest, but Rennes pushed the deal through despite Famalicao driving a hard bargain in negotiations.
For Famalicao, this is the loss of one of their brightest young forwards just eighteen months into a four-year contract signed when he arrived from the Mohammed VI Academy set-up via Marrakech. The Portuguese club had reportedly wanted closer to €17m to let him go mid-season, a sign of how highly they rated him, but ultimately had to accept a lower package as Rennes' interest hardened. Losing a forward with his physical profile and finishing instincts leaves a gap in their attack for the rest of the campaign.
Zabiri's club form this season had been solid rather than spectacular before the move: four goals in 12 Liga Portugal appearances, with 14 appearances in all competitions and 755 minutes on the pitch. What transformed his profile was his performance at the Under-20 World Cup, where he scored five goals — including two in the final against Argentina — as Morocco won the tournament and he was named its outstanding player. That showing is what pushed his valuation up and convinced Rennes to move decisively in the closing days of the window.
His start in France has not been entirely smooth. Zabiri picked up a minor thigh problem shortly after arriving, which delayed his involvement in matches, and the manager who signed him, Habib Beye, was sacked just days later with Rennes sitting sixth in Ligue 1 after a run of poor results. That instability means Zabiri's medium-term role is still taking shape, with the club also carrying Arnaud Nordin as an attacking option, but the scale of the investment in a 20-year-old points to Rennes viewing him as a long-term building block up front rather than a quick fix.
Once fit and settled, Zabiri's pace, movement in behind and finishing — the qualities that made him the standout forward at the Under-20 World Cup — should give Rennes a different kind of central attacking threat to what they lost when Meïté departed. How quickly he adapts to the physicality and pace of Ligue 1 will determine how soon that potential shows up in results.