Algerian forward and 2016 CAF African Player of the Year Riyad Mahrez has completed a move to Saudi Arabian side Al Ahli on a four-year deal worth around £30 million until June 2027.
The 32-year-old, who recently won the treble with reigning Premier League and European champions Manchester City, departs the Etihad after spending five years in a deal that made him the then-most expensive African footballer and also winning numerous titles.
Mahrez helped City with 15 goals and 13 assists in the 2022–23 campaign to take his total tally with the side to 78 goals and 59 assists in about 236 games, winning four English top-flight titles, including three in a row, two FA Cup titles, three English League trophies, one Community Shield, and the UEFA Champions League title.
Done Deal: Algerian forward and 2016 African Player of the Year Riyad Mahrez joins Saudi side Al Ahli on a 4-year deal.
We wish him all the best. ????#Afrosport #Mahrez #transfers #AlAhli #SaudiProLeague #MCFC #Mahrezto#Alahli pic.twitter.com/LMmPLX6dMs
— AfroSport (@AfroSportTV) July 28, 2023
The Algerian began his professional football career in Quimper before securing a move to another French side, Le Havre, where he shone brightly and caught the eyes of then-English Championship side Leicester City, signing a three-and-a-half-year deal with them in January 2014. He helped the team win the English Division Two title at the end of the season, securing promotion to the Premier League.
In the following season, the team almost got relegated, but Mahrez played an integral role in helping them win seven of their nine games to survive and remain in the top flight. The 2015-16 season was as magical as they come for the Algerian, who helped the Foxes win their first Premier League title by scoring 17 goals and providing 10 assists in 37 league games. He also became the first Algerian to win the Premier League.
His spectacular display that season earned him several accolades, including becoming the PFA Players’ Player of the Year (the first African to earn the accolade) and the PFA Fans’ Player of the Year, along with being included in the PFA Team of the Year.
Mahrez is a full Algerian international, having made his debut for the Desert Foxes in 2013. He has since gone on to score 30 goals in 83 matches, including representing them at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and helping them win the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations as captain.
The former Manchester City star will join a host of big names in the Saudi League but will team up with Al Ahli’s latest summer recruits, like former Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino and Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.
