Saud’s agent recounts fullback’s move to Roma: “It’s normal that he’s not playing.” | OneFootball

The agent of Saud Abdulhamid, Ahmed Almualim, discussed his client’s move to Roma in the summer.

In an interview with Arab News, Almualim said, “It’s a story with two chapters.”

“The first was written in May, when I received a communication from one of the main scouts asking about the player and the conditions for a potential transfer. It started from there.”

“And the second episode was when Florent Ghisolfi became sporting director of Roma. Previously, he had been sporting director of Nice and there he had also shown interest in Saud.”

“He knew that Saud was in the last year of his contract with Al Hilal. So when he was appointed sporting director of Roma, he got back in touch with us and showed his interest again.”

“I think this transfer has helped the image of the entire football country. It will help other Saudi players to have a chance in Europe, maybe. I think this move has opened the doors for Saudi players in the years to come. I am really proud that we did it.”

“It was one of the goals I had set for myself and I am happy that I did it. A lot of people were against this transfer. People who did not look at the bigger picture.”

“As an agent, I forgot my own interests just to support Saud, in the interest of Saudi football. I sacrificed a lot of money to make this deal happen.”

“Let me tell you that just before he signed for Roma, Saud was close to going to Rennes in France. They had a strong interest in him. He chose to go to Roma for the challenge. Rennes’ interest was kept secret, it was not mentioned anywhere.”

“He is happy in Rome and everything is going well. He has played a few minutes. He is an international player. He has played for the national team on many occasions. He has played in the most important tournament there is, the World Cup. He has also played in the Asian Champions League.”

“It was not a big problem for him to adapt. He was mentally prepared for what was to come. He is really aware of the challenges that await him. He lives a normal life. He has a house.”

“It was normal for him to start from the bench, we were talking to the coach and the sporting director and they explained everything. He has to know the culture of the league, Italian football is difficult. It is different from any other European country.”