JEDDAH, 17 January 2005 — The president of Al-Hilal Club, Prince Muhammad ibn Faisal, said the club agreed to pay a transfer fee of SR11 million to Al-Shabab for the services of promising young midfielder Abdul Lateef Al-Ghannam.
Prince Muhammad signed the five-year contract and that he was happy because Al-Ghannam is just what the doctor ordered for Hilal.
He said the deal was profitable and will benefit Hilal in the long run considering the caliber of Al-Ghannam.
On the value of the deal, Prince Muhammad club said: “SR9 million is the value of the deal in addition to SR2 million to support the Shabab Club. I will not say how much the player got from this deal but the most important thing for us is that he will feel comfortable with his new club”.
Shabab club president, Talal Al-Sheikh, said: “I am very happy that the deal was sealed and we hope that this new deal will serve the Saudi sport. It is very hard to give up a good player like Abdul Lateef Al-Ghannam, but the club got a huge income from this deal and will support the club financially. The first thing we are looking for is to pay late salaries and we will pay a salary as a reward to all players”.
Meantime, Saudi Arabia’s Hilal team lost the final match against Al-Ahli of Egypt in the Arab Volleyball championship in Cairo Egypt.
Ahli won 3-0, finding little trouble against the inexperienced Hilal spikers.
The set scores were 25-15, 25-19, 25-19. Hilal settled for second in the competition while Al-Arabi of Qatar finished third.
