Riyad Mahrez Transfer Saga Heats Up After Al-Hilal Defeat

Abdulaziz Al-Malik walked out of SHG Arena with a 2-0 defeat to digest and a transfer storm to manage. By the time he stopped to speak, the loss to Al-Hilal in the fifth round of the Saudi Roshn League was already old news. The name on everyone’s lips was Riyad Mahrez.

Al-Shabab have been heavily linked with the Algerian star in the final stretch of the summer window, and the club’s president did nothing to cool the noise. He did the opposite.

“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 line. Forty-eight hours. That was enough to reignite a transfer saga that refuses to die down.

Speculation around Mahrez’s next move had already been bubbling, with reports of a possible return to Al-Ahli and interest from Al-Ittihad in bringing him in. Al-Shabab’s public admiration has now thrown another heavyweight into the chase and sharpened the focus on where the 35-year-old will land.

Mahrez left Al-Ahli at the end of last season after the club unilaterally terminated his contract a year before it was due to expire. His three-year spell in the Saudi league, which began with his 2023 move from Manchester City, brought serious silverware: two AFC Champions League Elite titles and a Saudi Super Cup.

That pedigree is exactly why his future has become one of the most intriguing threads of this transfer window. A proven match-winner, a decorated veteran, and now a free agent with three major Saudi clubs circling.

Al-Hilal took the points on the pitch. Off it, Al-Shabab’s president made sure the next 48 hours belong to Mahrez.