The Crisis of M’bolhi, Feghouli and Houcine Benayada
The trio of the national team, goalkeeper Wahab Rais M’Bolhi, Sofiane Feghouli and Houcine Benayada, are in a tough situation that may push them towards an unknown future or join unknown teams to avoid spending a white season if they will not sign new clubs.
A few days before the end of the summer Mercato, this international trio remains without a club and in the status of free players, after the expiration of their contracts with their previous clubs.
Despite his status as a free player after the expiration of his contract with Saudi Al-Qadisiya, the goalkeeper M’bolhi was unable to sign a new club, knowing that he received offers from Saudi Arabia, which he rejected because he was not convinced of joining them. The same situation applies to the other duo, Houcine Benayada and Sofiane Feghouli, whose relationships with the Tunisian Sportive Star of Sahel and the Turkish Galatasaray ended.
The former defender of Tunisia’s Esperance Club had received an official offer from the Saudi club Damac, who was looking for a right-back. Still, the negotiations between the two parties did not reach any agreement.
Many media reports linked Sofiane Feghouli with Rachid Ghezzal in Turkey’s Besiktas, but the Algerian player’s financial demands prevented the offer from becoming reality.
With the approaching date of closing the summer Mercato, scheduled for August 31, the situation of the Algerian players is getting more complicated due to their advanced age, as M’bolhi is 36 years old, which brings him closer to the door of retirement, while Feghouli is approaching the 32-year-old and to a lesser extent Houcine Benayada, who recently celebrated his 30th birthday.
In a related context, the complicated situation that the three warriors are going through will be reflected in the national team, especially about goalkeeper M’Bolhi, as the national coach Djamel Belmadi will have to resolve the issue of goalkeeper in anticipation of the following training camp scheduled for the coming September, which will include two friendly matches.
