[1] He has been considered one of the favourite players by Litex fans, due to his dedicated and selfless manner of playing, and his loyalty to the club.

On 25 June 2010, Zhelev signed a one-year deal with the Azerbaijani football club Inter Baku.

At the end of the 2010–11 season, Zhelev returned to Bulgaria and joined Slavia Sofia on a free transfer.

He made his comeback league debut at the start of the 2011–12 season in a 1–0 defeat to Levski Sofia on 8 August.

Zhelev was frozen out of the first team in October 2013 (after Asen Bukarev had been replaced as coach) and in December 2013 joined Vereya Stara Zagora in the third division of Bulgarian football.