UAE winger Ismail Al Hammadi has rubbished reports linking him with a move away from Al Ahli, saying he wants to end his career with the UAE champions.
Al Hammadi, the 2013-14 Arabian Gulf League Emirati Player of the Year, emerged as a transfer target for Al Jazira last week, as the Abu Dhabi club confirmed they had tabled a bid.
But while Jazira officials appeared quietly confident they would get their man, the 25-yearold has instead thanked Ahli for the role they have played in his development, and insisted he is going nowhere.
“My relationship with the Red Castle is forever, my beginning was here at Al Ahli, and will continue until retirement. I will not wear any shirt but the Al Ahli shirt,” Al Hammadi said on the club’s official website.
“I’m happy with my achievements in Al Ahli, my ambition was to play with the reds and to compete for the title in order to win it and make our fans happy, which is what happened now already.
“So I’m going to continue among the Knights, and I will leave Al Ahli only in my retirement, and this my ambition and wish.”
On the bid from Jazira, the UAE international added: “There were no negotiations between me and any other club, I have a contract with Al Ahli for three seasons to come.
“I am just thinking only about next season, and strong competitions with my colleagues in local tournaments and to strive to provide an exceptional season, better than the previous one.”
Meanwhile, the Abu Dhabi club seem to have missed out on their other primary target, Habib Fardan, after Al Nasr issued a statement insisting the midfielder was staying in Dubai.
“We make it clear that the player Habib Fardan is staying at the club,” a statement on Nasr’s official Twitter page, read. “This was confirmed by our player himself in his intention not to leave the club.”
