Riyadh Mahrez set for Saudi move after City’s agreement with Al Ahli

Five-time Premier League winner Riyad Mahrez is set for a move to Saudi Arabia club Al Ahli after Manchester City reached an agreement with the Saudi club for over £30 million. Riyad Mahrez won the first of his five Premier League titles with Leicester City in 2016 and won 4 more after joining Manchester City in 2018. 

The Algerian international scored five goals and made ten assists in the Premier League in 30 matches last season, in addition to three goals in nine UCL games as Manchester City went ahead to win the UEFA Champions League. It was enough to attract the attention of the heavy spenders in the Middle East.

The 32-year-old forward will not travel with the Manchester City team for their pre-season tour of Asia to Japan and South Korea, and this was done in a bid to allow him to focus on the move to Saudi.

Since Mahrez joined Manchester City in 2018, he’s played over 150 games for the club and around 45 goals, with 15 goals coming from 47 games last season as the City won the treble.

However, he was not a regular starter last season, and as such, he was an unused substitute for both the FA Cup and Champions League finals; it’s no surprise that manager Pep Guardiola has opted to let him become the latest big-name player going to a Saudi Pro-League side.

He will join the likes of Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, and Ruben Neves, as well as Cristiano Ronaldo, who have all moved to Saudi Arabia this summer.

Similarly, Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson will join Steven Gerrard at Al-Ettifaq after a deal of around £12M was agreed. It will include add-ons as the 33-year-old, who still has two years on his Liverpool contract, missed the club’s 4-2 win over Karlsruher on Wednesday.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu