AEK Athens have completed the signing of defensive midfielder Hakim Sahabo from Standard Liège in a permanent deal, with the Rwandan-Belgian moving to Greece for a reported fee of €1.50m. The transfer is confirmed, with Sahabo’s contract at AEK running from 02/02/2026 until 30/06/2030.
The move takes the 20-year-old out of Belgian football and into the Greek Super League 1, where he will join AEK as a player valued at €1.50m on the transfer market. Standard Liège, his parent club, had recalled him from a loan spell at Beerschot VA at the end of the 2024/25 campaign before agreeing to his sale to the Athens side.
Sahabo’s switch represents the latest step in a career that has developed steadily across Belgium and France. Born in Brussel on 16/06/2005 and standing at 1.85 m, he has been used primarily as a defensive midfielder, operating at the base of midfield. He holds dual nationality, representing both Rwanda and Belgium, and now moves outside those countries’ leagues for the first time at senior level.
Before landing in Athens, Sahabo had already built a varied club résumé. He came through the youth ranks at KRC Genk Youth before moving to Standard Liège Youth in 2020. A year later he left Belgium for France to join LOSC Lille U17, later progressing to LOSC Lille U19. In 2023 he returned to Belgium with Standard de Liège 16 FC, from where he earned promotion into Standard Liège’s first-team setup at the start of 2024.
His market value has risen and fluctuated in line with his development. From a valuation of €150,000 at Standard de Liège 16 FC in October 2023, it jumped to €300,000 by December of the same year. After his elevation to Standard Liège’s senior squad, his value climbed to €800,000 in March 2024 and peaked at €1.50m by June 2024. A loan spell at Beerschot VA in early 2025 coincided with a temporary drop to €1.00m, but by December 2025, back at Standard Liège, he had again been assessed at €1.50m.
Sahabo has experienced both top-flight and lower-tier Belgian football, featuring in the Jupiler Pro League with Standard Liège and in the domestic system with Beerschot VA. The confirmed deal to AEK Athens now places him in Greece’s Super League 1, offering a new tactical and competitive environment away from Belgian football.
With his contract at AEK Athens secured through to 30/06/2030, Sahabo avoids any immediate risk of free agency and instead enters a long-term project in Athens. The move provides a platform to consolidate his market value and continue his progression as a defensive midfielder on a new stage in Greek football.
