Former Egypt defender Ibrahim Saied has backtracked on his decision to hang up his boots, and expressed his desire to join a high-profile Egyptian club. Controversial footballer Saied, who played for Ahli and Zamalek before, terminated his contract with Ismaili last season, and received no tangible bids this summer. The 29-year-old announced over a week ago that he would retire by the end of August if he got no offers from abroad, but he had a change of heart after his mother talked him out of retiring. "My mother was crying her eyes out because she didn't want me to retire," he told Dream TV. "She asked me to change my mind and convinced me that I should re-ignite my career. "Now I feel like I'm 16 or 17. I want to get back in Egypt fold, especially after (head coach) Hassan Shehata vowed to call me up should I play regularly. "I'll only move to a prestigious team, and may God help me revive my glorious days. "I was treated unfairly during the past years, but now I'm determined to get back in the public eye." Deceived
Jose During the lengthy interview, Saied ruled out the possibility of re-joining Ahli, saying he was once 'deceived' by the Cairo club's officials. "Ahli's officials deceived me. They promised to bring me in, and eventually let me down," the free agent explained. "When I was in Turkey, (current coach) Hossam Al-Badri, (board member) Mahmoud Al-Khatib and (football committee member) Tarek Selim contacted me. "They have all called on me to re-join Ahli, but then left me high and dry just to prove that principles matter to their club." The former Rizespor man pointed out that he had a 'great relationship' with Manuel Jose, who had two separate tenures at Ahli. "Jose liked me a lot, he even picked me in the dream team he named during his interview with Emirati publication Super," he said. "Ahli and Egypt fans don't hate me either, I can tell from the way they treat me when I meet any of them. "But I feel Ahli's officials are still bearing a grudge against me for joining Zamalek years ago, and they won't let bygones be bygones."
Mokhtar Saied started his career at Ahli in 2000 and earned plaudits for a string of impressive displays, but his tendency to make troubles blighted his spell. After causing all kinds of troubles for the six-time African champions, Saied joined their arch-rivals Zamalek to further infuriate Ahli's officials and fans. No Zamalek agreement When asked about his chances of getting back to Zamalek, Saied said: "I was in negotiations with board member Ibrahim Youssef and former Zamalek star Gamal Abdul-Hamid, but no agreement was reached. "They believe my return to Zamalek wouldn't go down well. From their perspective, the club's supporters wouldn't welcome me back." On the other hand, Saied assured that the idea of joining Petrojet has never crossed his mind. "I spent some time at Petrojet to improve my fitness, but that doesn't necessarily mean I want to move to the club," he elaborated. "(Petrojet boss) Mokhtar Mokhtar said he has no intention of landing me. With all due respect, I only play for big teams."
