Wessam Abou Ali's Future with Al-Ahly in Doubt

The door is shut. For now.

Media pundit and former Al-Ahly goalkeeper Ahmed Shobier has poured cold water on talk of a romantic mid-season reunion between Palestinian forward Wessam Abou Ali and the Cairo giants, insisting Columbus Crew see him as central to their future.

Abou Ali dream meets hard reality

“Yesterday there was talk that Al-Ahly had begun to open discussions or test the waters over the return of Wessam Abou Ali, and whether Columbus Crew would agree to his departure or not,” Shobier said in radio remarks on Monday.

He admitted the idea appealed to him on a footballing level.

“I said, if only, because he was a player who made a huge difference with Al-Ahly,” he noted, before laying out the firm stance from MLS. “But the Columbus Crew coach said he is the future of the club, there is no chance of him leaving, and he said his injury had affected the team and that he will return soon.”

That line from the American side leaves Al-Ahly, and their supporters, clinging to little more than hope.

“If there is even half a chance of him returning to Al-Ahly, I say to the Al-Ahly club, do not hesitate,” Shobier urged. “The idea of his return is almost non-existent, but it is important for one to dream and think.”

For now, it remains exactly that: a dream. Al-Ahly must turn their focus to what they do have, not what they miss.

Ammouta turns up the heat inside Al-Ahly

Inside the dressing room, the tone is very different. Moroccan coach Hossein Ammouta has gone to work on the squad’s mentality ahead of a critical stretch.

“The Moroccan Hossein Ammouta held a very, very long lecture yesterday with the players,” Shobier revealed. “They opened their hearts to one another and spoke together, and you feel that the players are motivated and want the next match.”

The mood, though, is not just about motivation. It is about anger.

“There is a state of anger because they see that the fans are very, very angry with the performances in the recent period, and the players want to prove themselves and deliver a better level,” he said.

That emotion will be tested immediately. Al-Ahly face Abu Qir for Fertilizers on Tuesday in the Premier League, a fixture that suddenly carries more weight than the name suggests.

They sit third with 10 points, level with runners-up Zamalek on goal difference and two points behind leaders Pyramids. The margin for error is already slim. Any slip, and the early-season table could start to harden into a pattern.

Zamalek, Bezerra and a deal they could not refuse

Across the city, the story is not about who might arrive, but who has gone. For Zamalek, the Juan Bezerra saga has finally reached its conclusion.

“Finally the closing credits have rolled on the Bezerra nights saga,” Shobier said. “Zamalek had no option but to agree to Bezerra’s departure, for several reasons, among them that there is no hope left with him.”

The Brazilian’s mind, Shobier explained, was already in the Gulf.

“The Shabab Al-Ahli Dubai offer suited him, it settled in his mind and he will not go back on it, money and then the life in Dubai, and Zamalek tried left and right but there was nothing.”

Zamalek’s financial reality left them with even less room to manoeuvre.

“The club is suffering from a very, very severe financial crisis and so Zamalek is in dire need of money, and the players have dues owed to them and want their money,” Shobier stressed.

So the numbers mattered. Every line. Every clause.

“As I told you yesterday, the financial details of the contract, 3 million dollars cash upon signing, one million dollars in February and one million in August, in addition to one million dollars in incentives and bonuses,” he outlined.

“Zamalek here is telling you I have 6 million dollars, and there was a 10% commission for his agent close to 600 thousand dollars which was waived, and also 5% sponsorship rights, and the league title bonus which was around 20 thousand dollars, so the player gave all this up. Zamalek is telling you like this, I am reaching approximately 7 million dollars.”

For a club under such strain, that figure is not a luxury. It is a lifeline.

A late twist in the contract

Just when it seemed the deal was straightforward, Zamalek squeezed one more concession out of the negotiations.

“What I knew yesterday was that there was no resale clause for Zamalek club,” Shobier admitted. “But I learned that Zamalek in the final metres insisted on writing a clause entitling the club to a 20% share of the value of the player's sale in the future.”

In a market where one smart clause can reshape a balance sheet, that 20% could yet prove as important as the initial fee.

So Al-Ahly chase form and fight for points while dreaming of a striker they cannot have. Zamalek cash in on a forward they could not keep and pin part of their future on a sell-on clause.

In Cairo’s title race, the margins are already financial, emotional and tactical. Which club manages them better over the coming months may decide far more than a single transfer window.