Nedim Bajrami’s goal celebration from his record breaking strike at Euro 2024 has been depicted in a mural (Image: Instagram)Nedim Bajrami’s debut season at Rangers may not have gone to plan – but the Albanian international has now been immortalised with a huge mural design back in his hometown.
Gers snapped up the 26-year-old in a £3.5million deal from Italian side Sassuolo last summer after he had caught the eye at the European Championships in Germany.
Bajrami wrote himself into the history books when he netted after just 26 seconds in an eventual 2-1 loss to Italy, becoming the fastest ever goal scorer in the EUROS since they were first held in 1958.
Bajrami was born in the Swiss capital of Zurich – where he started his professional career with Grasshoppers – but both of parents are ethnic Albanians.
The wide man represented Switzerland right up until U21 level before being granted Albanian citizenship in 2021. He has since won 33 caps for his country, scoring six times.
And in his father’s hometown of Tetovo, the struggling Rangers star has had a massive mural with his likenesses designed in his honour.
The mural depicts Bajrami’s celebration after opening the scoring against Italy, with the versatile winger holding his hands aloft.
The player himself was present to celebrate the unveiling of the mural, where large crowds had gathered to see their hero.
Nedim Bajrami takes the acclaim from fans in his hometownTetovo’s mayor Bilall Kasami took to Instagram to share images of the event, and captioned the post with the following message:
“Nedim Bajrami, the son of Tetova and the pride of Albanians, today took his rightful place in the heart of his city—a mural with a heart, and a red and black heart!”
While Bajrami will be enjoying his downtime in the off-season, his future at Ibrox under new boss Russell Martin is far from certain.
The big money signing registered just five goals and four assists in 44 appearances in all competitions for Gers last season.
He found himself in and out of the team in the final third of the campaign after Barry Ferguson had taken over on an interim basis following Philippe Clement’s sacking at the end of February.
Bajrami has already been linked with a return to Sassuolo this summer.
Last month, Gazzetta dello Sport reported that the newly promoted Serie A team will submit a £2.1million offer to bring the player back to the Mapei Stadium, a significant reduction on the fee they received from the Light Blues for Bajrami last summer.