RIYADH: When Saud Abdulhamid made the move to Europe in 2024, signing for AS Roma from Al-Hilal, it signaled an exciting moment for the growth of Saudi footballers on the global stage.
Just 380 minutes of playing time across eight appearances last season quickly caused that excitement to fade, however, and calls for his return to the Saudi Pro League began. But the 26-year-old opted to remain in Europe, joining French club RC Lens in August last year on loan with an option to buy.
While some fans criticized his decision to stay in Europe, Saudi national team fan Khaled Al-Yemeni said he continued to believe in Abdulhamid through the tough times.
“It is always a dream to see a Saudi player succeed abroad, no matter where they are playing,” Al-Yemeni told Arab News. “Different competitions will always build a different quality of Saudi players.
“I never thought Abdulhamid should have returned to Saudi. It is about Saudi players changing their mentality and competing at levels higher than the Saudi Pro League, which will ultimately bring success to the national team.”
Lens spent almost half of the past two decades mired in the second-tier Ligue 2, but since returning to the top flight in 2020 they have never finished lower than eighth place, and this season are challenging Paris Saint-Germain for the title for the second time in four years.
Abdulhamid has become a key cog in their machine, and his recent rise has been nothing short of spectacular. After making just one start for the “Les Sang et Or” in 16 league games during the first half of the season, since the turn of the year the Saudi international has started 12 of the last 13 matches.
Lens play with a 3-4-2-1 system that gives him the freedom to maraud down the right flank as a wing-back. In just 1,187 minutes of game time, he has scored twice and provided three assists, ranking him one of the most efficient full-backs in Ligue 1 in terms of goal contributions.
Over the past week, Abdulhamid truly began to find decisive form for Lens. After taking a major hit to their title ambitions in a 3-0 Derby du Nord defeat to rivals Lille on April 4, Lens found themselves 2-0 down to Toulouse after 13 minutes in their next game, on April 17. Abdulhamid pulled one back in the 61st minute as Lens began to turn the match around, ultimately grabbing a late, 3-2 comeback win to keep their title hopes alive.
Four days later, Lens faced Toulouse again, this time in the semi-final of the French Cup, and they cruised to a 4-1 victory, with Abdulhamid creating two goals that helped ease his team into the final for the first time since 1998.
Attention now turns to Lens’ remaining league fixtures, including a home game against PSG, who are four points ahead at the top of the league, and the cup final, in which they will face either Strasbourg or Nice.
Beyond that, of course, lies the 2026 FIFA World Cup, at which Abdulhamid is expected to play a key role for the Saudi National Team. It has not been the best of years for the Green Falcons, with qualification for the World Cup coming very late, several disappointing friendly results, and failure to win the FIFA Arab Cup.
However, Abdulhamid’s form will no doubt give them a boost ahead of the biggest World Cup finals in history, particularly as the Saudis are set to face former champions Spain and Uruguay.
Local fans have welcomed his progress in European football in the run-up to the competition. For the first time, they can take pride that a Saudi player is a regular starter in one of Europe’s Top 5 leagues, which has sparked optimism that more players will follow.
“I think his performances will definitely have a positive impact on the younger generations,” said Al-Yemeni.
“For example, I personally know two young players at a big team in the Saudi Pro League and they are dreaming to play abroad after the success of Abdulhamid.
“That is what we actually want in Saudi Arabia; more players abroad means more success for our football.”
