Zelimkhan Dzhabrailovich Bakayev (Russian: Зелимхан Джабраилович Бакаев; born 1 July 1996) is a Russian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Lokomotiv Moscow and the Russia national team.
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]
On 19 June 2025, Bakayev signed a two-year contract with Lokomotiv Moscow.[12]
He was first called up to Russia national football team for UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying matches against San Marino and Cyprus in June 2019.[13] 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.[14]
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.[15]
| 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 | |||
| Lokomotiv Moscow | 2025–26 | Russian Premier League | 9 | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 14 | 2 | |||
| Career total | 232 | 27 | 35 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 289 | 38 | ||
| 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.[16]
| 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 |
His younger brother Soltmurad Bakayev is also a footballer.[22] Bakayev is an ethnic Ingush.
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