Man City star departs club to move to Saudi Arabia

Riyad Mahrez has left Manchester City to join Saudi Arabian side Al-Ahli. 

The Algerian winger has been heavily linked with a move to the club for several weeks, and on Friday morning it was officially announced that he had joined the Pro League side.

The Saudi side have paid a fee of around £30 million to sign Mahrez, who cost City £60 million when he joined Pep Guardiola’s side.

Mahrez, 32, joined City from Leicester City back in 2018 having helped the Foxes to an extraordinary Premier League title win during the 2015/16 campaign.

He enjoyed a hugely successful spell in Manchester, scoring 78 goals and providing 59 assists in 236 matches for the club across all competitions.

During his time at The Etihad, Mahrez won no fewer than 12 trophies, including four Premier League titles, the Champions League, and two FA Cups.

Mahrez has left Manchester City after five years with the club

Last term, Mahrez made 47 appearances across all competitions as the Citizens completed a remarkable treble – winning the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup.

Mahrez had a year remaining on his contract with Manchester City but hadn’t started either the Champions League or FA Cup finals and City have decided to sell the player this summer rather than losing him for free next year.

The Algeria international is the latest high-profile player to move to the Saudi Arabian Pro League this summer, with stars from across Europe having joined clubs in the division.

The likes of Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Jordan Henderson, and Ruben Neves have all made the switch so far during the current transfer window.

Al-Ahli is one of four Pro League clubs that has recently been taken over by the country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).