Bouktit: “The Györ train does not stop at your station twice”

“Honestly, it would have broken my heart to leave Metz without winning the Champions League [trophy] we had been running after for so long. It put my mind at peace. I feel like I left with the job done,” says Bouktit.

By the time she was playing the EHF FINAL4 2026, Bouktit had known for a couple of months that she would be wearing Györ’s jersey in 2026/27. The line player, who turns 24 on 27 August, felt like it was the right time for her to leave Metz.

“It was a very hard decision to make, and even when everything was signed, I still had doubts, because I ask myself questions all the time,” she says, before adding that she had been dreaming of playing for the Hungarian club for ages. “From the outside, it looks like the biggest club in the world — always chasing titles; always with some of the best players in the world.”

And now, after arriving in Hungary over the summer, does she find the inside perception any different to how she saw things as an outsider?

“Not really, but this is something I am used to in Metz, because both clubs are chasing the same goals. Here in Györ, I was welcome by friendly people. I thought that, being still young, it was a risk moving away from Metz, but things have been going pretty smoothly so far,” says Bouktit.

Helping her settle in her new environment are Estelle Nze Minko and Hatadou Sako, two other France national team players, as well as Bruna de Paula, who made the journey from Metz to Györ a couple of years ago.

“It made everything easier, both on and off the court. They all told me that if I was struggling with something, I could speak French, especially on the court. And not only do we speak the same language, but these girls are actually very good friends of mine.”

While Bouktit was looking at Györ from the outside with wide eyes, she has to make the move to positioning herself as an important player at the club quickly.

“I cannot be like a kid in a candy shop. I have to be an actor in this club, especially given the level of the girls who surround me. If I feel like I have achieved something just signing here, I won’t play much,” she says, a kind of warning to herself.

But Bouktit is known as one of the hardest-working players around, so the effort required at Györ should not be a problem for her.

“I know that the Györ station does not stop at your station twice, so you can count on me to give 100 per cent all the time here.”

Bouktit is also confident she will be able to take on a role completely different to the one she had in Metz. At the historic French club, Bouktit was the captain — one of the faces known to fans, who would wave at her when she was out and about in the city. In Hungary, it might feel a little bit more like she is just one player among many others.

“I knew it beforehand. I know that in Györ, there are so many good players that one or two might be missing and the team will still be playing without a problem,” she says, comparing her new club to what she knows from the France team.

“When I arrived in the national team, I had to prove everything because I was no one there. I feel like this is kind of the same thing here. I have to prove my worth, but I am confident and I want to work for my playing time as hard as possible.”

Bouktit looked with appetite at the Champions League draw back in June. She wanted to play against Metz, her former club, for many reasons. “It remains my city, and a club where I had many emotions and mostly great ones,” she says. “I also want to get rid of that ‘going to my old club’ thing. It will be done and then I can move on.”

It is no surprise, then, that the date of 10 October has been marked on her agenda, as Györ will host Metz before travelling to France in February next year. These games, although they feel far away right now, will have a special taste for the French line player.

“My sister is coming to Györ for the first one, and I am sure my whole family will be in Metz for the return. I hope I can show everyone there that I am still the same, that I am as hungry as I have ever been and that Györ has helped me become a better version of myself."

Photos © Győri Audi ETO KC / Peka Roland; kolektiff images/