Dad dying was worst that can happen to a kid... but now I know I can handle anything

HAKIM ZIYECH EXCLUSIVE

CHELSEA new boy Hakim Ziyech makes no apology for being a mummy’s boy.

The Moroccan international was just 10 years old when his father passed away, leaving a wife and nine children to fend for themselves in the small Dutch town of Dronten.

Ziyech, the youngest of the bereaved brood, was already demonstrating his brilliance with a ball in the street games he played with his brothers and mates.

And it was then that he made it his mission to make sure his mum was well looked after – although she did turn down his offer of a luxury house when Ajax made him the highest-paid player in Holland with an £80,000-aweek contract.

Ziyech said: “Mum has not had an easy life. She was only 18 when she came to Holland.

“My dad had been out here for a few years and my mum had to learn the language, which was not easy. She had to work very hard to help my dad to get a wage to keep the family going. Life was tough for us.

“Mum had to raise nine kids – and some of us were not the easiest kids to look after.”

Ziyech (right) is a home boy at heart. He now owns an apartment overlooking the Ijsselmeer lake in the trendy

Amsterdam district of

Ijburg.

But he will never forget his roots and the bruising games of his childhood that toughened him up and enabled him to hone his skills.

Ajax fans reckon he is the club’s most naturally gifted player since

Dennis Bergkamp.

And although the Amsterdam giants will retain his services as they attempt to defend the Eredivisie title, their supporters are devastated by the winger’s decision to move to Stamford Bridge next season.

Ziyech said: “I didn’t ever dream that one day I might be voted the best player in the country.

“When I was a kid in Dronten, I played my first games when I was five and within one season a bigger club approached me to play for them.

“Two years later, I signed for Heerenveen and even then it still did not go through my mind that I could actually become a professional footballer one day.

“All I did was play five-a-side on the streets with my big brothers and other big lads. I was always the smallest kid. “You had to prove that you could play – and I think I managed to show them I could

play well. I learned how to take kicks and knocks. Some big lads would take into account that I was still just a small boy – but others did not give a monkey’s!

“They would go in hard. But it never bothered me. In fact, I did not care about anything in the world. As long as I could be out there every day.”

When Ziyech’s mum went with her son to collect the Dutch footballer of the year award in 2018 it was a far cry from the day he was jeered by 50,000 Ajax fans after some poor performances following his arrival from Heerenveen in 2016.

For £37million, Chelsea have bought a player who is as mentally tough as he’s physically gifted.

Ziyech said: “I can handle absolutely anything. I don’t need a mental coach around me to keep myself strong.

“Look, I have been through quite a lot in life.

“Losing your dad is the worst thing that can happen to a young boy. Anything that happens in life after that is relative.”