JEDDAH: Sami Al-Jaber has made Al-Ahli star striker Malek Muaz an offer which he could not refuse.
Nothing wrong with that, but what made Ahli fans see red was the apparent poaching by Al-Jaber, former team captain of the Saudi national team and Al-Hilal striker and now Hilal football club team manager.
The fans were angry Al-Jaber bypassed Ahli management by negotiating directly with Muaz, which is a violation of the transfer rules and regulations. Al-Jaber met with national team standout Muaz at a training camp in Riyadh and discuss the possibility of a transfer to Hilal after his contract ends with Ahli.
Also, Al-Jaber might have unnecessarily distracted a player on national duty and specially with a big World Cup qualifying match coming up against Iran by offering Muaz a huge contract at Hilal.
At 27 Muaz is not getting any younger and as the shelf life of professional players go he may yet jump at the opportunity to raise his market value to the maximum while he can.
Fearing this scenario, Ahli fans want management to extend Muaz current contract with the Jeddah-based club to once and for all cut teams trying to steal him.
Sources said that Muaz might transfer to another team if the amount offered by Ahli club fails to satisfy him. No figure was disclosed for the Hilal offer if indeed it was true. But Ahli club management is working silently to reach agreement with Muaz.
