Saudi Arabia’s al-shabab club is close to sealing its first deal during next summer’s transfer window, after finalizing the final agreement with Portuguese player Rafa Silva to sign him until June 2027.
According to the Saudi sports newspaper, things were done between the president of the capital club, Mohammed al-Minjem, and the Portuguese player himself, and only the approval of the polarization program to finalize the transaction.
The deal is expected to be settled by final signature in the coming days, especially given Silva’s admiration for the Saudi youth project presented to him by Mohammed Al-Minjem, the club’s president.
Silva’s contract with the Benfica club expires this summer, and his current market value is 18 million euros, based on the data of the global website Transvir Market. During his career with the Portuguese giants, Silva made 326 appearances across all competitions, finding the net 94 times, while delivering 79 assists.
The 30-year-old joined Benfica in 2016, coming from Braga, Portugal, and Silva in his club’s shirt has won several titles, most notably the Portuguese League 3 times, knowing that he has in his international career the 25 match with the Portuguese national team, with whom he achieved the 2016 European Cup of Nations and the 2019 European Nations League.
Saudi al-shababTargets Adult Competition
The current season, 2023-24, saw the Saudi youth move away from the top positions in the Roshen League, despite their strong contracts. The team also emerged from the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup, after the 5-2 quarter-final defeat against Al-Nasr.
The al-shabab attracted several distinguished professionals in the past, such as Croatian Ivan Rakitic, Moroccan Roman Saiss and Belgian Yannick Carrasco; To strengthen the ranks of the team and compete with other Saudi clubs, which included the world’s brightest stars.
The Club Sheikh made numerous changes to his coaches during the current season, starting the season with the Dutch Marcel Kaiser, then sacked after the results dropped, and was temporarily assigned to Argentina’s Juan Brown, before bringing in Croatian Igor Biscan, who faced Kaiser’s own fate, and finally contracted with current Portuguese coach Vitor Pereira, last February reira.
