Competing with European clubs for top prospects is partly a business decision, partly an attempt to change perceptions It was striking that in a month when Neymar left Saudi Arabia after costing Al-Hilal hundreds of millions of pounds and playing only seven games in return, the Saudi Pro League’s clubs turned more and more to youth. The transfer window closed on Friday with a couple of big deals but there was activity before; it just happened to be quieter and less headline-grabbing. January intensified a change of focus that has been taking place since the summer of 2023 when a whole host of megastars headed to the Middle East. As well as Neymar there was Karim Benzema, Riyad Mahrez and a flurry of other 30-somethings who made the move to follow the granddaddy of them all, a certain player who turned 40 on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Defender claims to be owed £11.5m by his former clubTribunal told Mendy ‘quickly ran out of money’ The former Manchester City footballer Benjamin Mendy was lent money by teammates when the club stopped paying him after he was charged with rape and sexual assault, an employment tribunal has been told. Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez supported the France international, who claims to be owed £11.5m in unpaid wages by the Premier League champions. Continue reading...

Former Manchester City winger is yet to reach the heights of last season where he led the Saudi league with 13 assists It’s been a difficult second season in Saudi Arabia for Riyad Mahrez. After moving from Manchester City to Al-Ahli in August 2023, the Algerian topped the assist charts in the Pro League with 13, as well as scoring 11 goals, helping his team to finish third, which for a newly promoted team was as good as could have been hoped for. When this season kicked off in August, the remit was a title challenge and for the Greens to lift a trophy by the Red Sea. A few weeks in, neither is looking likely. A home defeat in the King’s Cup, the premier domestic tournament, to a team struggling at the bottom of the second tier was a genuine shock. Worse is the league form. Only seven points from the first six games means Al-Ahli are already 11 points off the pace. Matthias Jaissle, the manager, went into the international break with some trepidation. Continue reading...

Champions have become less guardiolista to allow Haaland to flourish and it is telling the best player of late has been Gvardiol Familiarity inevitably breeds, if not contempt, then at least discernment. When Leicester won the Premier League what mattered was not how they had done it but merely that it had been done. You could talk about the performances of N’Golo Kanté, Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez, pontificate about how Claudio Ranieri had developed Nigel Pearson’s side or dwell on the significance of the discovery of Richard III’s body under a car park, but fundamentally all that mattered was that they had defied the laws of football finance and logic and that they had done it. But as Manchester City edge towards a sixth title in seven years, the manner of the win feels important. Continue reading...

The incident occurred in the 63rd minute after Algeria coach Djamel Belmadi opted to substitute the Hammers winger in place of Roma midfielder Houssem Aouar.

West Ham's star Said Benrahma has clashed with national team boss Djamel Belmadi after he was subbed off - just days after butted heads with international team-mate Islam Slimani

Algeria captain Riyad Mahrez said his team are "hungry" for more success as he prepared to lead his team against Egypt on Monday.

Head coach of the Algerian national team, Djamel Belmadi says the upcoming TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations, Cote d'Ivoire 2023 will be very difficult.

Algeria national team head coach Djamel Belmadi has reacted to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) draw. The 2023 AFCON is set to take place in Ivory Coast and will kick off in January, featuring a total of 24 teams across six groups. Djamel Belmadi’s side were drawn in Group D of the competition […]

African giants to train in Garden City from October 9-17, with friendlies against Algeria and Zambia planned

Right-back signed new contract after Bayern interest‘His teammates made him feel how much he is loved’ Pep Guardiola has thanked his Manchester City players for convincing Kyle Walker to stay at the club after summer interest from Bayern Munich. The right-back signed a two-year extension to his City contract this week, keeping him at the club until 2026. In a window that saw Ilkay Gündogan, Riyad Mahrez and Aymeric Laporte leave, it was important to maintain Walker’s experience within the squad. The England defender has captained City in recent weeks and is set to have the armband for the trip to West Ham on Saturday. Continue reading...

Speaking on RMC Sport show l'After Foot, Algeria coach Djamel Belmadi has confirmed that Amine Gouiri (23) and Yasser Larouci (22) have both chosen to

Concerns raised at European Club Association general assemblyUnprecedented summer spending reshapes transfer market European clubs are seeking guarantees that they will be paid the huge transfer fees agreed with Saudi Arabian clubs in full after a summer of unprecedented spending that has reshaped the transfer market. Before this year the amount spent by Saudi clubs on players in Europe’s top divisions had never eclipsed 2% of total yearly sales. After a transfer window that has seen players such as Neymar, Rúben Neves, Fabinho, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Riyad Mahrez move for eye-watering amounts, that proportion has risen dramatically to 11%, totalling €878m (£753m). As recently as 2020 the outlay was only €63m. Continue reading...

Algeria coach Djamel Belmadi, whose side face the cranes today and Tunisia in a friendly on Tuesday, expressed surprise at Uganda’s choice of Cameroon to host the match, but said he would not use...