Nuraly Alip

Nuraly Paktuly Alip (, Nūraly Paqtūly Älıp, ; born 22 December 1999) is a Kazakh professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Russian Premier League club Zenit Saint Petersburg and captains the Kazakhstan national team.

After passing through the youth academies of Caspiy and Kairat, Alip made his debut for the senior Almaty team in 2018. Scoring four goals in 74 appearances, he joined Zenit Saint Petersburg on loan in 2022. Later that same year, Alip signed the club on a permanent deal. With Zenitchiki, he has won three league titles, one Russian Cup title, and one Russian Super Cup title.

Club career

Kairat Trained in Caspiy, where he began in 2008, he joined the youth setup of Kairat in 2015. In March 2018, he joined the main team of the Almaty club. He played his first game on 11 March against Kyzylzhar, who won this 2-1 victory.

2021–22: Loan to Zenit Saint Petersburg In January 2022, Alip joined up with Zenit Saint Petersburg for a trial during their week long training camp in the United Arab Emirates. On 16 February 2022, Alip joined Zenit on loan until the end of 2022, with an option to buy. Zenit Saint Petersburg On 14 December 2022, Alip moved to Zenit on a permanent basis and signed a contract until the end of the 2024–25 season, with an option to extend for a year.

On 2 June 2024, Alip scored the winning goal in added time in the 2024 Russian Cup final.

On 7 August 2024, Alip extended his contract with Zenit until the summer of 2028.

International career Youth Alip previously played with Kazakhstan's U-19 and under-21 teams. Senior Alip made his debut with the Kazakhstan national team on 26 March 2018 in a friendly match against Bulgaria which ended with a 2-1 win in favour of the Bulgarian combined after the goals of Ivelin Popov and Nikolay Bodurov for Bulgaria, and Yerkebulan Tungyshbayev for Kazakhstan.

Career statistics Club

Honours Kairat Kazakhstan Premier League: 2020 Kazakhstan Cup: 2018 Kazakhstan Super Cup runner-up: 2018, 2019

Zenit Saint Petersburg Russian Premier League: 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2025–26 Russian Cup: 2023–24 2024 , 2026