Exasperated 2015 AFC Player of the Year Ahmed Khalil is considering making an exit from Al Ahli after they failed to instigate official talks to renew his rapidly-expiring contract, with teams from Europe and the Arabian Gulf League monitoring the situation.
Khalil, 25, has just nine months left on the deal which ties him to his boyhood club.
Repeat overtures to extend have been met with a non-committal response from the Red Knights hierarchy. They have also forced the star – who has struck 110 times for them in 227 games since his 2006 debut – to further question his future by signing fellow striker Asamoah Gyan plus taking the captain’s armband from him and bestowing it to Lima.
This attitude has dumbfounded the player, who made history last year by becoming the first Emirati to be named the continent’s finest after performing a pivotal role in the run to the 2015 AFC Champions League final.
His glittering form for club and country has not gone unnoticed elsewhere, with a long list of admirers forming ahead of a potential free transfer next summer. These include bitter rivals Al Ain and Al Jazira in the UAE.
But most intriguing for Khalil is the lengthy list of foreign suitors. Interest abroad has come from the La Liga trio of Deportivo La Coruna, Granada and Espanyol – where ex-Ahli boss Quique Sanchez Flores is in situ.
Serie A’s Fiorentina and Primeira Liga giants Benfica have also expressed a desire to recruit Khalil, who is fascinated by the prospect of becoming the first footballer from the UAE to secure a permanent move to a major European competition.
The forward, who with 14 goals is joint-top scorer in the AFC World Cup qualifying process for Russia 2018, is prepared to consider making a financial sacrifice to force through any groundbreaking move to football’s traditional heartland. He also feels that he is now at the optimum age to head west.
Despite this desire, the option of remaining at Rashid Stadium has not been excluded. It is only the expressed attitude to delay potential discussions until early 2017 that has made him feel unwanted.
Reports in the Arabic press that a demand has been made to be paid Dh21 million per annum are incorrect. But if he was to sign up once again, his elite standing with the national team necessitates remuneration in line with the likes of Al Ain icon Omar Abdulrahman and Al Jazira hot shot Ali Mabkhout would need to be offered.
Khalil has won three AGL titles at Ahli, plus a pair of President’s Cups and Arabian Gulf Cups.
