Franck Kessie of Barcelona has joined Al-Ahli of the Saudi Pro League, the Laliga team revealed on Wednesday.
The 26-year-old joined Barcelona from AC Milan in 2022, and Al-Ahli will pay €12.5 million for him.
However, the Ivory Coast midfielder struggled to secure a place in Xavi’s starting line-up.
Following the dismissal of the German manager by Red Bull Salzburg, Al-Ahli has hired Matthias Jaissle as manager on a three-year contract.
Kessie became the sixth European player to accomplish so when he joined Al-Ahli, which was promoted to the Pro League after playing a season in the second tier. The other five were Riyad Mahrez, Roberto Firmino, Edouard Mendy, and Alain Saint-Maximin.
The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) has announced a Sports Clubs Investment and Privatisation Project involving the league champions Al-Ittihad, Al-Ahli, Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal.
PIF owns 75 per cent of each of the four clubs, while their respective non-profit foundations own 25 per cent of each.
