Nuraly Alip

Nuraly Alip took the long way to Zenit: from Kaspiy's youth ranks in his native Aktau to the Kairat academy in Almaty, then years working through Kairat's reserve sides before a senior debut in March 2018. That patience paid off — at Kairat he collected a Kazakhstan Championship title, two Kazakhstan Cups, and a run of silver and bronze finishes before Zenit signed him on loan in February 2022.

Zenit's leadership had spoken of keeping the total cost under 1.75 million euros, but when the club exercised its option to buy in December 2022, the final fee settled at 2 million euros. Alip had made his case on the pitch by then, debuting for Zenit within weeks of arriving.

Since establishing himself in Russia, he has become a fixture of a trophy-laden side, winning the Russian Championship in four separate seasons and adding a Russian Cup and several Super Cups to his collection.

Internationally, Alip has represented Kazakhstan since a 2018 friendly defeat to Bulgaria and has gone on to make more than fifty appearances for the national side without finding the net. In 2025, that body of work was recognised at home when he was named Footballer of the Year in Kazakhstan.