Al-Shabab Chief Comments on Riyad Mahrez Transfer Speculation

Abdulaziz Al-Malik walked out of SHG Arena with a 2-0 defeat to digest and a transfer storm to manage. He left with at least one of those fires burning brighter.

Al-Hilal had just beaten Al-Shabab in the fifth round of the Saudi Roshn League on Friday night, a routine scoreline in a league full of heavyweights. The real drama started once the final whistle went and the microphones appeared.

Questions quickly turned to Riyad Mahrez. Again.

For days, the Algerian’s name has been circling around Al-Shabab. Rumours, calls, whispers of negotiations in the background of the summer transfer window. This time, the club president did nothing to cool it.

“Riyad Mahrez is a big gain for Saudi football and for Al-Shabab, and God willing we will see over the next 48 hours what will happen,” Al-Malik told Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat.

One sentence. Forty-eight hours. Enough to send speculation into overdrive.

Mahrez’s future has already been a live issue across Saudi Arabia. Reports have linked him with a possible return to Al-Ahli, the club he left at the end of last season after they unilaterally terminated his contract a year before it was due to expire. Al-Ittihad have also been credited with an interest, looking to bring his left foot and big-game pedigree into their own dressing room.

Now Al-Shabab have stepped clearly into the frame.

Mahrez, 35, knows this league inside out. Since arriving from Manchester City in the summer of 2023, he has spent three seasons in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ahli, collecting major honours and influence in equal measure. He helped the Jeddah club to two AFC Champions League Elite titles and a Saudi Super Cup, underlining why his name still carries weight in every transfer meeting.

That track record is exactly why Al-Malik’s words hit so hard. This is not a flyer on an ageing winger. This is a calculated move for a player who has already proved he can shape seasons and swing finals.

The timing is no coincidence either. Al-Shabab, beaten by Al-Hilal and searching for a statement, now sit at a crossroads in their campaign. A signing of Mahrez’s calibre would not just lift the dressing room; it would send a message across the Roshn League that they intend to punch back.

Al-Ahli know what they once had. Al-Ittihad know what they want. Al-Shabab have just made it clear they are willing to join the fight.

The clock on those 48 hours has started. Where does Riyad Mahrez choose to write his next Saudi chapter?