Al-Ahli director Khaled Al-Issa disclosed that the Saudi Pro League (SPL) club had made serious attempts to sign Brazilian forward Vinicius Jr from Real Madrid during the final weeks of the summer transfer window.
The Saudi outfit attempted to secure Vinicius’s signature after loaning out French winger Allan Saint-Maximin to Turkish outfit Fenerbahce.
Speaking to the Arab media ‘Koora Rotana’, Khaled Al-Issa, the president of the Al Ahli Foundation’s board of directors, said (as per GOAL):
“The competent technical committee, which includes the technical director, decided to leave Maximin because it was easier in terms of the sale process, and the amount of the deal could be borne by any other club.”
“There was a desire to bring in a very big winger, Vinicius, from Real Madrid,” he added.
As per the summer transfer rumours, Al-Ahli, which currently sits in the eighth spot in the SPL table, prepared a world-record bid for Vinicius Jr that would have eclipsed the 222 million euros that PSG paid FC Barcelona for Neymar.
The 24-year-old Brazilian star has a release clause of one billion euros.
Why did Al-Ahli opt against signing Vinicius Jr?
Despite Al-Ahli’s intention, they ultimately decided against splashing the cash on Vinicius Jr after one of their youth academy prospects, Firas Al-Buraikan, opted against leaving the Saudi side to go to a scholarship role.
As a result, the Saudi club shifted their focus to buying a striker, and they eventually settled for Brentford forward Ivan Toney. The Three Lions striker moved to Al-Ahli for a reported transfer fee of 40 million pounds.
“During the negotiations [with Real Madrid] something unexpected happened, which was the Saudi players leaving to go professional in accordance with the scholarship program, and the striker Firas Al-Buraikan was scheduled to leave,” Al-Issa said.
“Our priority shifted from the winger to the spearhead based on the departure of Al-Braikan, and we entered into negotiations with Ivan Toney and Victor Osimhen, and it ended with Toney’s arrival,” he added.
However, the Saudi chief warned that Al-Ahli is still working on securing the signature of a world-class winger, and confirmed that they will dip into the winter transfer market with the aim of signing a big-name player.
“We will work to strengthen this [wing] position with a deal that exceeds the ambitions of Al-Ahli fans during the winter period,” he said.
