Denis Lemi Zakaria Lako Lado was born on the 20th of November 1996, and he is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Chelsea, on loan from Juventus and the Switzerland national team.
Club career
Servette
Denis Lemi Zakaria who was born in Geneva, Switzerland, to a South Sudanese mother and Congolese father, Zakaria first began playing for local club Servette.
Young Boys
Report from BBC sport has it that Zakaria joined Young Boys in June 2015 for an undisclosed fee, signing a four-year contract. The young player made his Swiss Super League debut on the 18th of July 2015 against FC Zürich in 1–1 away draw replacing Alexander Gerndt after 79 minutes.
Borussia Mönchengladbach
However, in the month of June 2017, Zakaria signed a five-year contract with Borussia Mönchengladbach. The player was transferred as a replacement for Mahmoud Dahoud who left the club for Borussia Dortmund. The transfer fee paid to Young Boys for Zakaria was reported as €10 million. Zakaria scored a total of 11 goals in 125 appearances for Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Juventus
And on the 31st of January 2022, with six months remaining on his contract, Zakaria moved to Serie A club Juventus on a four-and-a-half-year contract, in a deal worth €4.5 million. On the 6th of February, Zakaria scored on his debut in the 61st minute, helping his side beat Hellas Verona 2–0.
Loan to Chelsea
According to some football experts, it was reported on the 1st of September 2022, Zakaria was loaned to Premier League club Chelsea till the end of the 2022-23 season with an option of an permanent transfer at the end of the season.
International career
BBC sport report has it that Zakaria played for various Swiss youth national teams. He could have represented either Switzerland, South Sudan or Congo at a senior level due to being born in Switzerland and having a South Sudanese father and Congolese mother. The young star made his debut for the senior Switzerland national team in a friendly 2–1 loss to Belgium on 28 May 2016. He was part of the squad for the 2016 European Championships. Zakaria was included in the 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
And in the month of May 2019, Zakaria played in the 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals, where his team finished fourth. The player was named in the 26-man Swiss squad for the UEFA Euro 2020. On the 2nd of July 2021, he scored an own goal in Switzerland’s quarter-final match against Spain, which they went on to lose on penalties.
Zakaria Salary
Zakaria signed a contract with Juventus that nets him a whopping salary of 2.1 Million Euro (1.8 Million Pound) per year. We have crunched the numbers, this means he earns €5,753 (£4,932) per day and €240 (£205) per hour!
Zakaria Net Worth
This young lad has an estimated net worth of 4 million Euros.