SAUDI PRO LEAGUE
Saudi defender fears Messi will axe him if he joins Ighalo at Al-Hilal
Saudi Arabia and Al-Hilal defender Ali Al-Bulayhi joked he is afraid Lionel Messi will ask for his departure if the Argentine forward joins the Saudi club, after an argument with him during a World Cup match last year.
Al-Bulayhi appeared to provoke the Argentina captain during Saudi Arabia’s historic 2-1 group stage victory over the eventual world champions in Qatar in November.
A source close to Messi has told Reuters he has received a formal offer to join Al-Hilal next season, though his father said the Paris St Germain forward has not “signed or agreed” a deal.
“I do not know what will happen, and I am afraid that he (Messi) says, ‘I do not want (player) number five’. I do not know if Messi will come or not, but if he comes, may God protect me,” Al-Bulayhi told SBC.
“If he comes, God willing, I will not attend the first two days until I monitor the situation from afar so that he may forget me,” the 33-year-old defender added with a smile.
Al-Bulayhi confirmed he spoke to Messi in Arabic at the World Cup and taunted him that he would not be able to beat the Saudis even if the match lasted for a long time.
The Saudi defender added he had not been scared to face Messi having gained experience from facing Uruguay’s lethal attacking duo Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez at the 2018 World Cup.
“After (the) Uruguay match, I will not ever be afraid even if I face three Messis. Messi is a legend and I do not want to talk about him, as he may come. He is a legend, but in the end we are 11 against 11,” he said.
-Reuters
Former Super Eagles’ coach, Jose Peseiro is on the line to coach Saudi Arabia Pro League first tier team, Al Riyadh.
Information from the oil rich country indicate that Peseiro who had previously coached the Saudi Arabia national team is one of the two being considered to replace Odair Hellmann at the Saudi club which placed 14th at the end of last season.
It is gathered that Peseiro has a competitor in Spanish cooach, Javier Pereira who is also lineup for the job.
Peseiro had previously managed Al Hilal in 2006 and later coached the Saudi national team during their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign.
Al Nasr’s Cristiano Ronaldo capped his first full Saudi Pro League season in style as he broke the record for the most goals scored in one campaign on Monday.
The Portuguese 39-year-old scored a brace in his side’s 4-2 win over Al Ittihad on the final matchday to bring his league tally this season to 35 goals.
The previous record was held by former Al Nasr forward and Moroccan international Abderrazak Hamdallah, who scored 34 goals in 2018-19.
Ronaldo, who played for Sporting, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus, joined Al Nasr in January 2023.
-Reuters
Undefeated Al-Hilal won a record-extending 19th Saudi Pro League title on Saturday with a 4-1 victory over Al-Hazem to reclaim the trophy from Al-Ittihad who won it last season.
Jorge Jesus’ side hold a 12-point advantage over Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr in second with three matches remaining.
Aleksandar Mitrovic gave Al-Hilal the lead from the penalty spot after 15 minutes but Faiz Selemani netted the equaliser for Al-Hazem in the 34th minute.
However, Jesus’s side took the lead again with an own goal from Ahmed Al-Juwaid in the 39th minute.
Mitrovic scored again in first-half stoppage time and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic scored three minutes later to make it 4-1.
Al-Hilal are chasing the treble having clinched the Saudi Super Cup title in April, and having reached the Saudi King’s Cup final where they will play Al-Nassr.
-Reuters
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