Zamalek Confirms Ahmed Fattouh Will Not Leave Amid Saudi Rumors

Zamalek shut door on Fattouh exit as Saudi rumours swirl

Ahmed Fattouh’s name has been dragged into the summer rumour mill, but inside Zamalek the message is blunt: he is not leaving.

Reports from Saudi outlets had pushed Al-Fateh as a serious contender for the left-back’s signature, riding the wave of his standout performances with Egypt at the recent World Cup. A move to the Saudi Pro League, big money, a new stage – it all sounded plausible enough.

Ahmed Shobier was having none of it.

Speaking on his radio show, the former Egypt goalkeeper cut through the noise, branding the Al-Fateh talk as pure media invention and making it clear Zamalek are not entertaining any offers.

He laid out the situation in simple terms. A Saudi newspaper linked Al-Fateh with Fattouh, he acknowledged, and nobody is disputing the defender’s form. Fattouh shone on the biggest stage, delivered “a wonderful performance” for the national team, and has long been regarded as one of the most accomplished full-backs in Egyptian football.

That, Shobier argued, is exactly why Zamalek are holding him tight.

The club are not short of options at left-back. Mahmoud Bentayeg is in the squad. Echo has renewed his contract and remains in the frame. Ahmed Khodary, who stepped in last season and did not look out of place, is another viable choice.

So this is not a case of Zamalek clinging to Fattouh out of desperation. They have cover. They have depth.

What they do not have is another player quite like him.

Inside the dressing room and on the tactics board, Fattouh’s importance runs deeper than a single position. Head coach Moatamed Gamal has used him in multiple roles in recent months, leaning on his versatility and composure to solve problems across the pitch. That kind of tactical flexibility is hard to replace, even with a full stable of left-backs.

Shobier underlined that Fattouh’s World Cup displays did not put him in the shop window so much as they reinforced his value to Zamalek’s technical staff. His “technical value,” as the pundit put it, has only gone up.

Which is why, when it came to the club’s stance, Shobier left no room for interpretation. Everything being written and recycled about Fattouh’s supposed move, he said, is nothing more than journalistic speculation. Then he went further, declaring himself “one million per cent” sure that Zamalek will not allow the defender to leave. For him, the matter is closed.

While the transfer talk rumbles on elsewhere, Zamalek’s focus is fixed on the pitch. The squad continues its pre-season camp, sharpening fitness and rhythm through a run of friendly matches as Gamal fine-tunes his plans.

The real business starts on 21 August at Cairo International Stadium, when Zamalek open their league campaign against Al-Ittihad Al-Sakandary. All the signs point to Ahmed Fattouh lining up in white that night, not boarding a plane to Saudi Arabia.