“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Al-Ra'ed, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Mohammad Al-Amri is 35 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Al-Ra'ed know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Al-Ra'ed know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Al-Ra'ed, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Al-Ra'ed know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Al-Ra'ed has been clear about where Mubarak Al-Shayie stands, which is more than many ever get.
The fee is $430.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Al-Qadisiyah drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Al-Ra'ed know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Mohammed Al-Hasawi arrives at 38 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
A new face in his position, and Yousri Bouzok suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Al-Ra'ed have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Al-Ra'ed can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Al-Ra'ed is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Al-Qadisiyah pay $170.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Al-Ra'ed pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Asked to play a role that is not his, or taken off before the hour once too often — Bander Whaeshi has let it be known that he does not like the way Al-Ra'ed are using him. Managers hear this long before the press does.
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Al-Ra'ed have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Al-Khaleej defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
1 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
At 20 years old, Musaed Al-Johani became the latest name off the academy production line to be handed a senior shirt.
Market14 Sep 2026
The window shut and Ali Al-Sheikhi is still in the building
Al-Ra'ed spent a month trying to move him and nobody rang back. He trains with a squad that has told him where he stands, and both sides start counting down to the next one.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Al-Ra'ed can pretend not to have heard.
The fee is $290.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Al-Fayha drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Al-Ra'ed can pretend not to have heard.
The terraces24 Aug 2026
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 6 of the 28 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
The name of Karim Ashraf has come up in conversations Al-Ra'ed were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Al-Ra'ed know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The name of Musaed Al-Johani has come up in conversations Al-Ra'ed were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.