Informed sources revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the Al-Ahly club management canceled the contract deal with the young Frenchman Papi Cabral, the Monaco midfielder, after negotiations between the two clubs had reached advanced stages during the past hours.
The cancellation of the deal coincides with Al-Ahly officially announcing the termination of its sports director’s contract, at a time when the club’s management is witnessing moves to rearrange a number of files related to the first team.
On Thursday, the French newspaper L'Equipe revealed that Al-Ahly and Monaco had reached an agreement regarding the transfer of Cabral, who is 19 years old, for 10 million euros, about 44 million riyals, with the French club receiving 15 percent of the player's future resale value.
The newspaper explained that Monaco granted Cabral permission to undergo medical examinations in preparation for completing his transfer, before returning in a later update on Thursday evening, revealing a sudden change in the course of the deal and the possibility of Al-Ahly retracting its completion.
L'Equipe indicated that the developments came amid criticism of Al-Ahly's sporting director and objections from the club's fans to the value of the deal, in addition to Al-Ahly studying the option of contracting with another player, without revealing his identity.
According to Asharq Al-Awsat sources, the state of uncertainty regarding the deal ended with Al-Ahly’s decision to cancel the contract with Cabral and not complete the procedures for his transfer from Monaco.
Al-Ahly Club announced the termination of the contractual relationship by mutual consent with Portuguese Sports Director Rui Pedro, as of today (Thursday), in a new administrative step that comes in light of the changes the club is witnessing at the level of sports work.
Al-Ahly explained through its official account on the “X” platform that the two parties agreed amicably to end Rui Pedro’s work as sports director, thanking him for the period he spent with the club, and wishing him success in his future career.
On the other hand, Al-Ahly management decided to assign Captain Osama Hawsawi, who was holding the position of Assistant Sports Director, to assume the duties of the designated Sports Director during the next stage.
The selection of Hawsawi comes in light of his previous contributions in working to develop the club’s academy and the age groups, in addition to his administrative and sporting experience within the Al-Ahly system, which prompted the club’s management to give him greater responsibility in managing the sports file.
The decision to end the relationship with Rui Pedro opens the door to a new phase on the sporting level, especially with the team’s need to continue working to enhance technical and administrative stability, and review a number of files related to the first team, the academy, and the age groups.
It is expected that Hawsawi will assume the duties of the designated sports director during the coming period, until a final decision is taken regarding the administrative structure of the club’s sports sector.
Brendan Rogers, coach of the Al-Qadisiyah team, described his team’s victory over Al-Diriyah as excellent, as it continues the team’s point-scoring path in the Saudi Professional League Championship.
The Al-Qadisiyah coach said, in the press conference after the match: An excellent victory for us, as we are playing many matches in a short time, and in the last two matches we played against two rising teams playing good football. In the first half, we moved the ball slowly and did not play in our usual style, but we put the team in order between the two halves, and we were able to control the match and score two goals. We also controlled the ball well for a long period in the second half, explaining: We played against a good team, and I thank our players for what they did.
Rogers added: We did not change the method of pressure, but we changed the direction of pressure. In the first half, it was from one side of Muhammad Al-Qahtani to the other, and as for the attackers, we changed their positions, and Musab was the key to the pressure, and we were able to win many balls, and this gave us what we wanted.
Regarding the progress of the Saudi players, especially the young player Mohammed Al-Qahtani, Rodgers said: I have confidence in the Saudi players, and Al-Qahtani played a wonderful match, and he was the one who caused the penalty kick, and when we look at the Saudi players today, we find that Jihad was a fighter and made wonderful long balls, while the level of Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat was exceptional in the last two matches, but today was the first match for Mohammed Al-Qahtani, and he is still adapting to the team, and Musab played a wonderful second half. At the end of the match, we included Saudi players.
Regarding the benefits awaiting the team and its participation in four tournaments this season, he said: We have strength in various aspects. The beginning was difficult for the matches we played, but the players have knowledge of what they presented and are working hard. The match is no longer 11 against 11, but rather 18 against 18, so we have to take advantage of the bench to activate the team. Currently, we will focus on recovery, and we will try to overcome this difficult period, especially with our matches in Al-Khobar and the high humidity.
