Egyptian League runners-up Ismaili have claimed on Sunday that Hosni Abd-Rabou's transfer wrangle had ended in their favor. The Dervishes said they reached a compromise with French side Strasbourg to hold on to the influential midfielder. "The club have paid 300,000 euros for Strasbourg to keep hold of Abd-Rabou," Ismaili general manager Abdul-Rahman Anous told FilGoal.com. "Furthermore, Ismaili won't seek reclaiming the 500,000 euros it paid to Strasbourg last year." It is unclear yet whether Ahli will interfere in the matter. After learning that Ismaili failed to pay Strasbourg their dues to sign Abd-Rabou on a permanent basis, Ahli stepped in to sign the 23-year-old. Transfer Problem Abd-Rabou played for Ismaili during the entire 2007/2008 season but Strasbourg were insistent that he should have been at their disposal. Ismaili signed Abd-Rabou on a season-long loan in 2006; with a view to a permanent switch should they pay 500,000 euros to Strasbourg after the season's end. However, they failed to pay the money on time, prompting Strasbourg to order the player report for training. Ismaili held onto Abd-Rabou and, consequently, Strasbourg filed a complaint to world governing body FIFA. The initial ruling came in favor of Strasbourg in the summer of 2007 but Ismaili appealed before the CAS, who upheld the original decision.
