The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Al-Ettifaq people have started saying his name in the past tense.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Awad Dahal has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
The offer went to Al-Orobah this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Al-Hazem have kept their man, and Al-Ettifaq go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Georginio Wijnaldum is on it.
Something was said to Hassan Al-Dawsari and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Al-Nassr in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Al-Ettifaq know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Al-Ettifaq is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al-Ettifaq this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. João Costa has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Player ratings25 Sep 2028
João Costa was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.24. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al-Ettifaq this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
5 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Faisal Al-Otaibi after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Georginio Wijnaldum was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Abdullah Al-Anazi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Madallah Al-Olayan is on it.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $207.0K — a club that wants Hamad Al-Sayyaf enough to be asked twice.
Georginio Wijnaldum was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
This is money that keeps the lights on rather than money that buys a centre-half, and the difference is the whole story. A club funded by its owner rather than by its football has exactly one conversation left ahead of it.
He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Yasser Al-Ghamdi has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Al-Ettifaq have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The chase for Hassan Al-Dawsari ended with $210.0K changing hands and Al-Mojzel out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Georginio Wijnaldum and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
$170.0K on the table at Najran. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Al-Ettifaq offered $70.0K; Al-Wehda said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Meshal Sibyani was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
BoardroomWages eat 114% of everything Al-Ettifaq earn
“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-Ettifaq can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Al-Jeel waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Al-Ettifaq is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Ohod have accepted the money. What Al-Ettifaq do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
The offer went to Al-Wehda this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Abdulbasit Hindi and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Words at Al-Ettifaq training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Meshal Sibyani is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Nobody at Al-Ettifaq will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Al-Ettifaq 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-Ettifaq, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Al-Ettifaq people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“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-Ettifaq can pretend not to have heard.
The phone has started ringing about Faris Al-Ghamdi again, and this time the name on the line is Al-Ittihad. Al-Ettifaq are listening politely and promising nothing.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Abdullah Madu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Huang Shan and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Abdullah Khateeb is on it.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Al-Ettifaq have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Al-Ittihad is saying, and nobody at Al-Ettifaq is enjoying the guessing.
Georginio Wijnaldum was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
$38.0K on the table at Al-Njoom. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
The name of Joy Manana has come up in conversations Al-Ettifaq were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Words at Al-Ettifaq training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdullah Madu is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Al-Ettifaq have made the call to Al-Fateh. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Nobody at Al-Ettifaq will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Al-Ettifaq know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Al-Ettifaq they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Georginio Wijnaldum and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Boardroom15 May 2028
192% of the income goes out in wages at Al-Ettifaq
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Abdullah Khateeb is on it.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Al-Ettifaq will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Al-Ettifaq would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
The words a physio says slowly. 19 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Georginio Wijnaldum and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad8 May 2028
Words at Al-Ettifaq training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdullah Madu is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until João Costa signs something — a contract at Al-Ettifaq or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Al-Ettifaq has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
6 shut-outs in 27 games. A goalkeeper’s loan is judged on the afternoons when nothing happened at all, and Belal Al-Dawaa has been having a lot of them.
26 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al-Ettifaq lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al-Ettifaq this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Al-Ettifaq, and 12 appearances in 43 say he has earned the hearing.
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Al-Ettifaq would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Al-Ettifaq. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Al-Ettifaq will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
“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-Ettifaq, and both men came out saying it was fine.
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
3 straight away victories. Sides that win away are usually sides that can defend and can counter, and the table has begun to reflect what those journeys have earned.
Three points for Al-Ettifaq, 1‑0 the final word against Al-Orobah in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Words at Al-Ettifaq training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdullah Madu is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The words a physio says slowly. 38 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Al-Ettifaq people have started saying his name in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al-Ettifaq this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
The first defeat in 5 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against Al-Hazem; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.
The words a physio says slowly. 99 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
29 points, and the rest of the division looking up. Every side that finishes first spends the season pretending it is not thinking about it, and this one has started pretending.
Abdulbasit Hindi was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Abdullah Madu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Al-Ettifaq will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Al-Diriyah have kept their man, and Al-Ettifaq go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al-Ettifaq this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every Al-Ettifaq game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Al-Mojzel runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Jordan Larsson is on it.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Al-Ettifaq, another week without a signature from Meshal Al-Alaeli.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Georginio Wijnaldum signs something — a contract at Al-Ettifaq or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Deruo Wisdom trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The offer from Al-Shabab for Khalid Al-Ghannam was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Al-Ettifaq is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Al-Ettifaq asked and Al-Diriyah said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
He is 20, and nobody at Al-Ettifaq signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
6 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Georginio Wijnaldum is on it.
20 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al-Nassr lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Marcelo Brozović and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jhon Durán was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Al-Nassr will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Al-Nassr, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Al-Nassr has been clear about where Ali Al-Hassan stands, which is more than many ever get.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Abdullah Al-Hamddan is on it.
The words a physio says slowly. 22 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.