Riyad Mahrez, a forward for Manchester City, has joined Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the two teams confirmed on Friday. Mahrez is the most well-known player attracted to the Gulf State's lucrative league.
The 32-year-old Algerian winger, who had previously played for Leicester and won 11 major titles, joined Pep Guardiola's squad in 2018.
"The wait is over: Riyad is real," the Saudi Pro League club said in a social media post. City agreed a fee worth up to Sh5.5 billion with Al-Ahli last week.
"To play for Manchester City has been an honour and privilege," Mahrez told City's website. "I came to City to win trophies and enjoy my football and achieved all that and much more.
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"I have had five unforgettable years with this football club, working with unbelievable players, fantastic supporters, and the best manager in the world."
Txiki Begiristain, the director of football for City, paid tribute to the great from Algeria.
He will be missed, but everyone will wish him the best as he starts a new chapter in his career. "There are few wingers that possess his levels of skill and technique in world football," he remarked.
Liverpool and Al-Ettifaq confirmed Jordan Henderson's transfer to the Saudi league on Thursday.
Following in the footsteps of his former Real Madrid teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, who currently plays for Al-Nassr, France striker Karim Benzema departed Real Madrid for Al-Ittihad.
N'Golo Kante of Chelsea and Roberto Firmino, another of Henderson's former teammates from Liverpool, are two Premier League players who relocated to Saudi Arabia.
The extravagant spending on sports by Saudi Arabia is sometimes criticized as "sportswashing" -- an effort to divert attention away from its track record on human rights.
The strict monarchy, which forbade homosexuality and last year executed 81 people in one day, sparked outrage when journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
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