Al Shabab have decided to keep Moroccan striker Abderrazak Hamdallah through the upcoming winter window, turning away any offers to move him before the end of the season.
The Morocco international, aged 34, joined the club in July 2024 and is under contract until June 30, 2027.
Decision Stance
The Saudi press outlet Al-Youm reported that the management has solidified its position, refusing to part with Hamdallah in January.
The club insists on retaining the star forward through the current campaign, regardless of offers, due to his pivotal role in the attack.
The decision is anchored on three main reasons: his technical value as the team’s primary scorer, the difficulty of finding a quick, compatible replacement, and the fans’ belief that he remains among the best players of last season and the current one.
A Lethal Weapon
Hamdallah is a formidable attacking asset with a long track record in Saudi football. The veteran, who previously wore the colors of Al-Nassr and Al-Ittihad, has surpassed 150 league goals and sits second on the league’s all-time scorers list.
His keen eye for goal and superb positioning in the box give him more chances than many forwards. His experience reading the flow of play helps him operate under pressure and create space for himself and teammates.
He also adds value from set-pieces and is notably fearless in front of goal, often making decisive calls that swing matches in his team’s favor.
Hamdallah is keen to overtake Omar Al Soma from the top of the Saudi Pro League’s all-time list.
He has scored 25 goals for the Riyadh club across 34 appearances, with five assists; in the Saudi Pro League he has 151 goals in 167 appearances, along with 23 assists.
Locker Room Crisis
Rumors of a departure have been linked to an ongoing dispute with coach Imanol Alguacil, which has at times kept him out of the starting XI.
Earlier reports suggested the dispute could push him toward contract termination, amid interest from several clubs, but Turki Al-Ghamdi, the club’s spokesman, denied these talks in a statement on X.
Al-Ghamdi added that the striker had a pre-scheduled trip to the United States to attend to personal commitments, and because it conflicted with a league match against Al-Khaleej, the trip was rescheduled to after the match.
The club will also rely on the cup competition to salvage its season, as they prepare for a high-stakes King Cup quarterfinal against Al-Ittihad. Although Carrasco was absent from training ahead of the trip to Jeddah, the Belgian winger remains a key figure for the team, with seven goals and another assist in 13 appearances, while form concerns around Carlos Junior and Hamdallah’s earlier absence have weighed on the side.
Despite a dip in results this season, the team believe the cup could provide a lifeline, and Shabab sit 13th in the Roshen Saudi Pro League with eight points. The club is one of the oldest in Riyadh, boasting 43 titles, ranking fifth in the kingdom’s all-time list.
Punchline 1: If goals were bullseyes, Hamdallah just brought the whole archery range to the pitch.
Punchline 2: In football arithmetic, Hamdallah is the precision strike that makes even the toughest defense blink—and the scoreboard smile.
