OFFICIAL: Al-Ahly blocks Azaro’s move to Chinese Hebei Fortune

CAIRO – 10 July 2018: Al-Ahly has officially announced that they will not be selling Walid Azaro to China’s giants, Hebei Fortune, confirming that the player will feature in the 2018/2019 squad.

The technical staff, led by Frenchman Cartiron, held a meeting during the club’s pre-season camp in Croatia. The decision was that a deal was reached between both clubs about the player.

Later on, Mohamed Fadl, head of contract and agreements at the club, confirmed that the move was cancelled for good. This decision was due to the unprofessionalism revealed during the negotiations with the Chinese side. Al-Ahly refused to take part in such matters.

“The football committee agreed on the departure of the player. On that basis, I have conducted negotiations with the Chinese side in regards to the final transfer sum and the remainder of the contract terms,” he explained to Al-Ahly’s official website.

“It was agreed that Al-Ahly will receive € 8.6 million in cash and 15 percent if he’s transferred to any other club,” Fadl added.

After the deal was reached, an English lawyer and a representative of the Chinese club arrived to the Red Devils’ headquarters to finalize the move and from there, the deal fell apart.

“The lawyer and the representative arrived in Cairo, and we held a meeting that lasted more than 13 hours. They were keen to change several terms in the deal, which was previously agreed upon. We felt that the deal was entering a shady zone and we, Al-Ahly, wouldn’t want to take part in that.”

The changes in the contract, according to Fadl, were suspicious. The Chinese representatives wanted to split the contract into two. The first one is worth €5 million and is paid by the club and the second contract is worth €3.6 million and is paid by fictitious sponsorships rights to the Chinese club.

The Chinese club insisted on this step in order to avoid paying taxes to the Chinese government. The football rules in China state that if a player’s price exceeds € 5 million, the club pays 100 percent taxes. Al-Ahly had to refuse, since dealing with sponsors in signing breaches the FIFA regulations.

The second adjustment that was requested by the lawyer is paying the sum in installments, even though the agreement was to pay in cash. Al-Ahly agreed to that term, respecting Azaro’s wish to finalize the move.

Al-Ahly insisted that, in case of selling or loaning the player within the Arab Republic of Egypt during the contract period, Al-Ahly should receive another €5 million. Al-Ahly should as well receive the same amount in case the Chinese side breaches its contract with Azaro.

Hebei’s English lawyer insisted on changing that part of the deal, which raised eyebrows amongst Al-Ahly’s board and led them to cancel the deal.

Fadl concluded; “with regards to the unprofessional handling of the negotiations, the retreat of many previously agreed terms and the lack of clarity from the Chinese side; we decided to cancel the move.”

“We informed the technical staff that Azaro is with the team for the next period and that he will feature in the upcoming season’s squad.”