Is there any way to feel about Riyad Mahrez's transfer to Al Ahli?
The Algerian winger is set to make a $40 million move from Manchester to Jeddah. Conflicting emotions prevail.
Deolu Akingbade writes about every big transfer from July 2 onwards. His next subject is Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez, who will move to Saudi Arabian side Al Ahli soon.
The Facts
Riyad Mahrez was born in 1991 in Sarcelles, France, a suburb of Paris. He entered the AAS Sarceles Academy in 2004 before graduating from the academy and joining fourth-tier side Quimper FC. He landed a move to Le Havre, snubbing sides like PSG and Marseille in favor of Le Havre’s excellent academy.
He landed a move to Leicester City (a team he assumed to be a rugby team) when a scout monitoring his teammate was instead wowed by Mahrez. He signed with Leicester, then a Championship team, for around $550,000.
When he and Leicester stormed their way to a shock Premier League title, he became a phenom in both Algeria and England. He was arguably the most recognizable face of the Leicester City dream team, alongside Jamie Vardy and N’Golo Kante. He won the PFA Players’ Player of the Year Award that season while also finishing seventh in the 2016 Ballon d’Or rankings. Mahrez announced his desire to leave the club. Despite his transfer request, the Foxes reject multiple bids from Arsenal, Manchester City, and Roma.
Mahrez sealed a $70 million move to Manchester City in 2018, becoming the most expensive African footballer ever. Mahrez became a key part of City’s dynasty, winning four Premier Leagues, two FA Cups, three Carabao Cups, and most recently, a Champions League.
Mahrez’s relationship with the Algerian national team has been on-and-off. Despite choosing Algeria over France despite the federation’s heavy interest in him, Algerian media alleged Mahrez paid head coach Valid Halilhodzic for a place in the team’s squad. Mahrez has not played in a single World Cup since then, missing qualification for the 2018 and 2022 editions. He is a 2019 AFCON champion, as he scored three goals en route to his first (and, so far, only) international title. Mahrez has been named as one of Algeria’s best-ever players, alongside Lakhdar Belloumi and Rabah Madjer.
The Rumors
Riyad Mahrez will reportedly move to Al Ahli, inking a three-year contract that would likely keep the Algerian in Saudi Arabia until he turned 35 years old. Manchester City will receive $33 million for the transfer, along with an extra $5 million in add-ons.
Mahrez was already on his way out of City, as rumors would have it. Even before the Champions League final, Saudi Arabia teams wanted Mahrez for a blockbuster transfer. 90min.com reports that Mahrez will receive a hefty $57 million per year while he plays at Al Ahli.
Al Ahli has signed Roberto Firmino and Edouard Mendy from Liverpool and Chelsea respectively. Prominent transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano also reports Newcastle United winger Allan Saint-Maximin will move to Al Ahli after Mahrez officially signs his contract. The team has also targeted Thomas Partey, and they seem set to sign Paolo Maldini as the side’s new sporting director.
City has already gotten down to business in the transfer market, with reporters claiming that Josko Gvardiol has signed with the team. Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic has already signed for the team as well. The club is in the process of selling Kyle Walker, Joao Cancelo, and Aymeric Laporte.
The Transfer Tree
The Transfer Tree traces the biggest transfers down to the lowest levels by looking at why a team makes a move and how the selling club replaces their player. It repeats until either the team becomes too unknown for any information to come through or the team doesn’t buy a player to replace their departure.
Riyad Mahrez leaves Manchester City for Al Ahli in a 38 million dollar deal. The winger closes the door on an epic City legacy where he played 145 games and scored 43 goals.
Although City has been linked with Bradley Barcola and Rayan Cherki from Lyon, the two most likely options are buying Raphinha from Barcelona or elevating Phil Foden to a higher role. But, Barca has ruled out a Raphinha exit, while Barcola seems set to move to PSG and Cherki is the source of interest from Chelsea, Spurs, and Newcastle. The most likely outcome is probably Foden getting more playing time, with Cole Palmer and Julian Alvarez set to also benefit from Mahrez’s departure.
The Spin
Riyad Mahrez is a truly special player.
He closes the book on an incredible career in England, with five Premier League titles, two FA Cups, three EFL Cups, and a Champions League. With Algeria, he claimed the 2019 AFCON, scoring three goals in the process. He picked up a handful of individual awards, including the PFA Fans’ and Players’ Premier League Player of the Year Award, CAF’s, and BBC’s African Player of the Year Awards, all in 2016. He scored 82 goals and 65 assists from 284 Premier League appearances.
But his impact goes beyond stats. “The Algerian Robben” was one of the flashiest players to grace a football pitch. His deep bag of skills, including his signature fake shot (la speciale), first touch, and tricky turns of pace, inspired a host of footballers. He remains a paragon of creativity, quality, and tactical intelligence. At the old age of 32, Mahrez is still showing his strength as one of the world’s best and most entertaining players.
Mahrez, unsurprisingly, fits perfectly with Al Ahli. We don’t know exactly what kind of tactics Al Ahli will play under this season, as they waived head coach Pitso Mosimane despite their Saudi second-tier league title and failed to woo over Fulham coach Marco Silva and Napoli manager Luciano Spaletti despite the team’s monetary promises.
We do know that Al Ahli is working to sign several players. A front three of Firmino up front, Mahrez on the right, and Saint-Maximin on the left seems likely. Both Mahrez and Saint-Maximin are inverted wingers. Thanks to the differing systems they play, Mahrez and Saint-Maximin played in a lot of roles. ASM found himself in a lot of 1v1 situations where he used his weak foot, agility, and flair to not just burst past defenders on the sideline but also to cut inside and unlock the defense.
But, Mahrez was an accurate passer, someone who helped gradually wear down defenses with reliable, steady passes, key balls to streaking attackers, set pieces, and the occasional skill move. The two, despite their similar roles, have completely different responsibilities.
In Al Ahli’s 18-0 preseason romp over Austrian fifth-tier team USV Stuhlfelden, Al Ahli lined up in a shape similar to a 4-2-3-1, which Mosimane and Silva use a lot. All three of the clubs use inverted wingers who are technically and tactically savvy, skilled with their weak foot, and are very pacy. It fits Mahrez perfectly.
Even if we don’t know exactly who will take charge of Al Ahli at the Jewel (which is a great name for a stadium), we can still say that Mahrez is versatile enough to fill almost all roles as a right winger.
Looking on the business side of the transfer, his move away from City isn’t surprising, but his move to Al Ahli raises eyebrows. Much like Fofana to Al Nassr, it makes a lot of sense for personal reasons, but it’s shocking that no team inside the Premier League or Ligue 1 wanted him. City recognizes how good Saudi Arabia is for offloading aging stars. Without Al Ahli and the Saudi Arabian teams, City likely wouldn't get half of the $38 million fee they will get now.
From 2020 onward, no team has paid over $20 million for a player over 32, excluding Robert Lewandowski’s transfer to Barcelona (who was arguably the best player in the world at the time) and Antoine Griezmann’s return to Atleti (thanks to a mandatory loan clause that “forced” Atleti to buy him).
The question of how Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund money and their four state-sponsored teams; Al Nassr, Al Ittihad, Al Hilal, and Al Ahli; have impacted football is a question posed by many journalists, including me.
Saudi Arabia signing so many star players is not just a hot topic because they’re signing so many players and disrupting world football as we know it with their big-money transfers. Saudi Arabia is still a nation that has tortured, assassinated, and jailed activists, journalists, and human rights defenders. Outcry over this is valid, and it’s still somewhat worrying that people only know Saudi Arabia as the country signing so many soccer players, not as a country with hundreds of notable human rights controversies.
So, from a business standpoint, it looks like City is not all that concerned to take government money from Saudi Arabia. City is struggling with its own public image, as they are owned by United Arab Emirates PM Sheikh Mansour and are facing 115 charges of breaching the Premier League’s financial rules from 2009 to 2018. Looking past already missing Mahrez in a City shirt and the nostalgia that comes with those memories, the transfer is still pretty messy, both morally and financially.
Despite employing the likes of Leroy Sané and Raheem Sterling during his recent seasons with Manchester City, Pep Guardiola reportedly doesn’t like the flashy, pacy wingers who take on their defenders 1-on-1 trying to beat their defender and put in a cross. He instead prefers “wide playmakers” who retain the ball, control possession, and help circulate the ball throughout the offense. This has helped City to one of the best-ever possession rates in the Premier League; 80% possession against Leeds (2-1) and 75% against West Ham (2-0) come to mind.
But what exactly does that mean for Guardiola and City's sporting director Txiki Begiristain?
Mahrez was a player that fit both roles, technically savvy with his shifty movement and dizzying skill moves, but also a player unshaken and confident mentally, while good enough to consistently make the right passes accurately (91.2% accuracy from 2655 passes in five seasons with City). Replacing such a unique player, someone who plays in a number of versatile roles will be difficult.
A potential Mahrez replacement would need at least a year to acclimate to Pep’s complex tactics. As practical as it would be to sign someone from City’s prestigious academy like Oscar Bobb and Cole Palmer, Bobb hasn’t played for the senior team in a competitive match, while Palmer switches between dominating the Premier League youth league and getting garbage time with the senior team. Neither have the experience to truly make a wave this season, much less replace Mahrez’s production rate.
But despite that, the market looks dry for City. As mentioned before, Barcola, Raphinha, Cherki, and more are off the table for them. Sané joining City looks far-fetched. Despite City’s pull in the market, it looks really tough to find a direct replacement for Mahrez. Although Foden meets all the criteria for replacing Mahrez, fans want him to play in the midfield, while depth concerns also come into play. It’s very possible that thanks to the Algerian’s departure, we will see Cole Palmer in his first prominent role since he broke into the first team.
With City’s preseason getting started; they fought out a 5-3 win thanks to a second-half brace from Erling Haaland; Cole Palmer and Oscar Bobb played 45 minutes each on the right. We might see more of Bobb and Palmer in the 2023/24 season.