Egypt's football superstar shoots down the latest offer from the Gulf that would have made filthy rich, reports Inas Mazhar Egypt's Ahli club website announced on 14 July that the team's famous midfielder Mohamed had decided to stay with the club which means that he had turned down a lucrative offer the club received from Ahli Dubai last week. According to the website, had a meeting with the club's football director Hadi Khashaba who told that the club still needs him. agreed to remain and forget about playing as a pro abroad which would secure the financial future of his family, as he has always said. The Ahli club said that with 's decision to stay with the club, the negotiations between the club and Ahli Dubai had terminated. The decision came as a surprise especially that the Egyptian club of the century has been studying the offer to its superstar midfielder which the club received last week. Since then, the news made headlines and has mentioned and been quoted in several newspapers that he has made up his mind and that he intends to leave the club seeking another experience and a better opportunity to build his career. was also quoted as asking the club to let him go as appreciation for helping the club gain glory all the years he has been with it. It was a monry-laden offer for Ahli and the player as well. It would have solved some of the financial problems of the club and helped the player realise his dreams. In principle, both parties, the club and , had agreed on the offer and were expecting Ahli Dubai representatives next Saturday to finalise the deal. What they were studying was to accept which of the two offers from the Ahli Dubai club: either to buy the player for good in return for five million euros, or to sign the player to a one-year loan in return for two million euros. Ahli Dubai is preparing to participate in the FIFA World Clubs Championship scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi in December. Ahli management had agreed to let the player finally go after former coach Manuel Jose had insisted that the player remains with the club during the past years, squashing several attempts at luring . Despite his fame, popularity and achievements, is not that well paid by the club when compared to European counterparts. His contract, which he signed when he joined Ahli, is worth only LE950,000, far less than some Egyptian players. has built a reputation not only in finding the net but also in creating from his play making role just behind the strikers. His real class comes in his timing, as he seems to continually choose the right moment to burst into action and grab the goals. He has recently been dubbed "The Smiling Assassin" by foreign media because of his two main trademarks: goal scoring and smiling. He was selected by the Egyptian Football Association Best Player in Egypt five successive times starting from 2004, an By Inas Mazhar
