The Algerian star, Riyad Mahrez, arrived in Doha yesterday in preparation for joining Al-Shamal Club. The player was received by Ahmed Al-Sada, vice president of the football team, Abdelaziz Sharif, the club’s media official, along with the team’s administrators, and a group of media who were keen to be at Hamad International Airport to receive the great player. Immediately after his exit, the player underwent medical examinations at Aspetar Hospital, before signing a contract linking him to the club until the end of the current season. The official signing will take place within hours, and the player will be registered in the club’s roster as a replacement for the Moroccan Mohamed. Rabih Harimat, who suffered a cruciate ligament tear during the team’s match against Al-Gharafa, in the second round of the league, and “Al-Arab” was alone in yesterday’s issue with the news of the player’s arrival in Doha.
Mahrez will provide great support to the northern team as it seeks to win the league title for the first time in its history, in addition to supporting its first appearance in the current edition of the elite AFC Champions League.
The player began his professional career with Quimper in 2009, before moving to Le Havre the following year, then to English Leicester City in 2014, where he won the league title in 2016.
Mahrez spent five seasons with City, and contributed to the team winning the league title four times in 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023, and the Champions League for the first time in its history in 2023.
He played 236 matches with City in various competitions, during which he scored 78 goals and made 59 assists. He moved to the ranks of Al-Ahly Saudi Arabia in the summer of 2023 with a deal estimated at about 40 million dollars, before the club refused to renew the contract this summer.
Mahrez contributed to Al-Raqi winning the last two editions of the AFC Elite Champions League, and played 122 matches with the team in various competitions, during which he scored 37 goals and made 50 assists.
Internationally (40 goals in 199 matches), Mahrez was crowned champion of the African Cup of Nations with Algeria in 2019 in Egypt, and participated in the 2014 and 2026 World Cups.
Ibrahim Al-Sada, club president: Ibrahim Abdullah Al-Sada, president of Al-Shamal Club, confirmed that the joining of Algerian star Riyad Mahrez to the team’s ranks represents a special deal and a strong addition to the club, noting that contracting with a player of Mahrez’s size and experience reflects Al-Shamal’s ambitions and desire to compete strongly during the next stage.
He said: “We are very happy about Riyad Mahrez joining Al-Shamal Club, as he is a great player with high technical capabilities and extensive experience that he acquired during his busy career in European stadiums, in addition to his experience with the Saudi Al-Ahly Club and the Algerian national team. We believe that his presence with us will have a significant positive impact on the team, both technically and in terms of experience.”
He added: “Al-Shamal faces important challenges in the local tournaments, in addition to its participation in the elite AFC Champions League, and therefore we were keen to support the team with elements capable of helping it achieve its goals. We hope that Mahrez will provide the expected addition, and that his joining will be an important step towards achieving distinguished results and making the club’s fans happy.”
Mbolhi and Taider accompany “Riyad”: The duo and former Algerian national team stars, Rais Mbolhi and Safir Taider, were keen to be in Doha alongside their compatriot Riyad Mahrez, who arrived in preparation for joining the ranks of the north, in a scene that reflects the strength of the relationship and friendship that brings together the former Algerian national team stars.
The trio has a strong friendship dating back to many years of representing the Algerian national team, especially during the period that witnessed one of the most prominent participations of the “Greens” in the history of the World Cup, during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Mahrez, Mbolhi and Taider were among the generation of the Algerian national team that performed at distinguished levels in the tournament, and succeeded in qualifying for the quarter-finals for the first time in the history of Algerian football, before losing to the German national team after a match that extended into extra time.