Al-Ahly's Winter Dream: Wessam Abou Ali's Return Unlikely
Ahmed Shobier has poured cold water on Al-Ahly’s winter dream of bringing back Palestinian striker Wessam Abou Ali – while sketching, in stark detail, why Zamalek ultimately had to bow to reality in the Juan Bezerra saga.
Abou Ali: The Dream That Won’t Die
On air, Shobier cut straight through the noise surrounding Abou Ali’s name and a possible January reunion with Al-Ahly.
“There was talk published yesterday 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,” he said.
He did not hide his admiration for the forward.
“I said, if only, because he was a player who made a huge difference with Al-Ahly,” Shobier admitted. But the message coming from the United States is blunt. According to him, the Columbus Crew coach sees Abou Ali as “the future of the club,” ruled out any chance of him leaving, and stressed that the player’s injury had hurt the team and that he will be back soon.
That slammed the door shut. Almost.
“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. Then came the reality check: “The idea of his return is almost non-existent, but it is important for one to dream and think.”
So the fantasy remains just that – a fantasy. But it tells you something about the mood at Al-Ahly that his name still hovers over the club whenever a transfer window approaches.
Ammouta Turns Up the Heat Inside Al-Ahly
On the pitch, the focus is immediate and unforgiving. Al-Ahly face Abu Qir for Fertilizers on Tuesday in the Premier League, needing a performance as much as a result.
They sit third with 10 points, level with Zamalek on goal difference and two points behind leaders Pyramids. The table is tight. The margin for error is not.
Inside the dressing room, Shobier revealed, Moroccan coach Hossein Ammouta has already raised the temperature.
“The Moroccan Hossein Ammouta held a very, very long lecture yesterday with the players, and they opened their hearts to one another and spoke together,” Shobier said. “You feel that the players are motivated and want the next match, and 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.”
That’s the backdrop: a restless fanbase, a proud squad stung by criticism, and a coach demanding a response. Abu Qir may look like a routine league fixture on paper. Inside Al-Ahly, it feels like a test of character.
Zamalek and Bezerra: The Final Chapter
Then Shobier switched sides of Cairo and turned to Zamalek, where one of the longest-running stories of their season has finally reached its conclusion.
“Finally the closing credits have rolled on the Bezerra nights saga,” he declared.
For Zamalek, there was no romantic twist at the end. Just hard choices.
“Zamalek had no option but to agree to Bezerra’s departure, for several reasons, among them that there is no hope left with him,” Shobier explained. The offer from Shabab Al-Ahli Dubai ticked every box for the player: “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.”
The club’s financial reality did the rest. Zamalek are not just under pressure; they are, in Shobier’s words, in a “very, very severe financial crisis.”
“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,” he said.
So the numbers mattered. Every line, every clause.
Shobier laid them out: “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. Zamalek here is telling you I have 6 million dollars.”
Then comes the twist that works in Zamalek’s favour. The player and his camp gave up a significant slice of money to push the deal through.
“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,” Shobier noted. “Zamalek is telling you like this, I am reaching approximately 7 million dollars.”
For a club in crisis, that figure is not just a transfer fee. It is oxygen.
A Late Clause and a Glimpse of Strategy
One more detail emerged in the “final metres” of negotiations, as Shobier described it.
“What I knew yesterday was that there was no resale clause for Zamalek club, 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,” he said.
That late insistence hints at a club trying, even under pressure, to think beyond the next balance sheet. If Bezerra thrives in Dubai and earns a bigger move, Zamalek will still be in the story.
So as Al-Ahly chase points and dream of an unlikely Abou Ali reunion, and Zamalek cash in on Bezerra to steady a sinking financial ship, one question lingers over Cairo’s two giants: who will manage these crossroads better when the season’s real pressure arrives?
