Mohamed Salah Joins Saudi Club Al-Adalah, His Teammate Left Confused and Ashamed – News18

Mohamed Salah signed for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Adalah but it was not the Liverpool superstar that made the move, leaving Brazilian teammate a bit confused.

The Saudi Pro League has made waves in the summer transfer window, luring players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema have and even N’Golo Kante and Ruben Neves from the Premier League. Hakim Ziyech, Kalidou Koulibaly are also expected to join soon from Chelsea with Manchester United’s Alex Telles and Arsenal’s Thomas Partey are the latest names to be added to a list of targets that only looks set to grow.

The Saudi club Al-Adalah took to social media to announce the signing of Mohamed Salah – a 22-year-old left-back – earlier this week.

It suffices to say that the Liverpool star is not the player joining.

Edson, who has also played for Fluminese and Gremio in Brazil, was convinced that he would be playing with the Egyptian star.

“Regarding Salah, I thought it was Liverpool’s. It turned out not to be, I was hoping that was it,” Edson was quoted as saying.

“Arab football is growing a lot every year and if Salah went there, it wouldn’t be something out of this world,” he added.

Liverpool’s Salah signed a three-year contract extension at Anfield last summer and it is not out of the realm of possibility that a Saudi club could land a player of his profile. At least not anymore.

Saudi Arabia is the not first country in football history to try to disrupt the transfer market with lavish spending.

Major League Soccer in America has consistently signed big names like David Beckham, Thierry Henry, Wayne Rooney, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and now Messi. Before that, the North American Soccer League — notably the New York Cosmos — enticed superstars like Pele, Franz Beckenbauer, Bobby Moore and George Best.

China went on a similar spree from 2015, signing internationals like Carlos Tevez, Pato and Hulk, but that initiative has fizzled out.

It is interesting to note that a player with the name Mohammed Salah, from Kerala’s Tirur, plays for RoundGlass Punjab and has represented other I-League clubs.

(With inputs from Agencies)