Riyad Mahrez has put pen to paper to confirm his deal with Saudi Arabian side Al Ahli after leaving Manchester City for £30million.
The celebrated Algeria international has signed a three-year contract, with an option for a fourth year, after an agreement was struck last week. City had maintained an openness on selling Mahrez and allowed him to stay at home as they embarked on their Asian pre-season tour last Sunday.
Al Ahli were were more than eager to meet the asking price of £30m despite the 32-year-old having two years left on his contract at the Etihad. The skillful winger had joined City from Leicester in 2018 for £60m and was instrumental in helping City win the treble last season, scoring 15 times in 47 appearances.
However he was supposedly a tad miffed with Etihad boss Pep after having been benched in both FA Cup and Champions League finals, without having racked up even single minute of play in either game, something that is believed to have helped make his decision to depart.
Mahrez is the latest Premier League star to swap life in England for the big money Saudi Arabian circuit after an aggressive push from the nation to snap up big-name players who are entering their twilight years.
The five-time Premier League winner medals to his name will be joining up with Edouard Mendy and Roberto Firmino as the other Premier League players to make the move to Al Ahli. He is also to be not the only high-profile player to exit the Etihad this summer as Kyle Walker, Bernardo Silva and Aymeric Laporte have also been strongly linked with moves away from City, although all three have travelled with the squad on their pre-season tour.