Saudi Club Al Shabab Refutes Reports on Moroccan Striker Hamdallah’s Salary Deal

Hamdallah’s transfer from Al Ittihad to Al Shabab amounts to 16 million euros: the leaders of the new club will pay half of his salary (4 million euros) in the first season in exchange for his former club taking charge of half of his salary for the second season - the Moroccan striker’s contract running until June 2025 -, with the obligation for the capital team to pay the full salary of 8 million euros for the second season. This information published by Al Riyadiya has been denied by the management of Al Shabab. The latter claims that this information is incorrect and has asked the newspaper to publish a correction on its social media accounts, as well as to publish it on the front page of its next issue. But Al Riyadiya does not see it that way. The newspaper maintains its position, claiming that the information and details published concerning the contract of the Moroccan striker Hamdallah were accurate. It also assured that it had documentation in the form of a copy of the tripartite agreement between Hamdallah, Al Shabab and Al Ittihad, where the financial amounts of the transaction are mentioned.

Hamdallah had joined Al Ittihad in January 2022 from the Al Nassr club. He contributed to the championship and Super Cup victories in Saudi Arabia during the 2022-2023 season. With 23 goals scored, the Moroccan striker became the top scorer in the Saudi league for the third time, far ahead of Karim Benzema. He managed to score 29 goals and provide 4 assists in all competitions at the end of the 2023-2024 season. Despite his performances, Al Ittihad parted ways with him, as the player was not in the plans of French technician Laurent Blanc. Hamdallah then signed with Al Shabab for two seasons.

With Al Nassr and Al Ittihad, the Moroccan star has won the league title twice and the Saudi Super Cup three times. With 129 goals in 137 matches, the 33-year-old Moroccan striker is the second top scorer in the history of the Saudi league, behind Syrian striker Omar Al Somah, former player of the Al Ahli club (144 goals in 180 matches).