Riyad Mahrez, a 32-year-old Algerian footballer, has signed with Al-Ahli to become the latest superstar to join the Saudi Pro League.
Mahrez agreed to a three-year contract with Al-Ahli for a reputed cost of £30 million. The agreement was reached just days after he was granted permission to skip Manchester City’s pre-season tour of Japan and South Korea.
Manchester City, the Premier League winners, have revealed that Riyad Mahrez has left the club and joined Al-Ahli. The winger was left out of the team’s pre-season tour squad to determine his future and has since signed with the Saudi Pro League club in a deal for a rumoured £30m plus add-ons.
Mahrez has won four Premier League championships, two FA Cups, three Carabao Cups, and the Champions League with Manchester City since joining from Leicester in 2018.
He joined City in the summer of 2018 for a then-club-record £60 million after playing a key part in Leicester’s Premier League title-winning season in 2015/16.
Mahrez spoke about his transfer to Al-Ahli:
“To play for Manchester City has been an honour and privilege. I came to City to win trophies and enjoy my football and I achieved all that and so much more.
“I have had five unforgettable years with this football club, working with unbelievable players, fantastic supporters, and the best manager in the world.
“I’ve made a lifetime of wonderful memories and the manner of our Premier League title wins and the battles we’ve had with Liverpool and, last year, Arsenal, underlined our collective desire and mentality to be the best.
“Manchester City will forever be a huge and happy part of my life.”
Mahrez holds a record for becoming the first ever Algerian player to score a hat trick in the Premier League after doing so while playing for Leicester City against Swansea City.
Because of his essential role to Leicester City’s incredible title achievement in 2015-16, Mahrez was named PFA Players’ Player of the Year in 2016, becoming the first African to do so since the award’s introduction in 1974.
Also that season, the former Leicester City winger was named to the PFA Team of the Year, with former colleagues Wes Morgan, N’Golo Kante, and Jamie Vardy.
Mahrez appeared in 284 Premier League games, scoring 82 goals and providing 61 assists. Manchester City has already lost Ilkay Gundogan to Barcelona this summer, while Kyle Walker and Bernardo Silva are said to be on their way out.
Big-name players such as Ruben Neves, Karim Benzema, and Roberto Firmino have all moved to teams in Saudi Arabia for hefty offers during the summer transfer window of 2023.
