Riyad Mahrez officially joins Al-Shamal!

After several weeks of waiting, Riyad Mahrez has officially become an Al-Shamal player, the sixth club of his highly successful professional career.

It is now official. After several weeks of suspense, Riyad Mahrez became a new Al-Shamal player this Wednesday. The Qatari club made the arrival of the former Algeria captain official through a video published on its social media accounts.

The 2019 African champion has signed a one-season contract, with an additional year as an option. His move to Qatar had been announced several days ago, and it has now been definitively confirmed. Mahrez will also wear his favourite number, 26, the number with which he made his breakthrough at the highest level with Leicester City before enjoying his greatest European years with Manchester City.

Al-Shamal, the sixth club of Riyad Mahrez’s career

At 35, Al-Shamal becomes the sixth club of Riyad Mahrez’s career. Before moving to Qatar, the Algerian winger had represented Quimper, Le Havre, Leicester City, Manchester City and Al-Ahli.

His journey took him from the lower divisions in France to the summit of European and then Asian football. According to statistics compiled across his entire club career, Mahrez now has 601 appearances, 173 goals and 130 assists. His spell at Al-Ahli ended with a record of 122 appearances, 37 goals and 46 assists.

An already remarkable trophy haul

Mahrez arrives at Al-Shamal with 17 major collective trophies won with club and country. With Leicester City, he won the Championship in 2014 and then the Premier League in 2016.

With Manchester City, he added 11 trophies to his collection: four Premier League titles (2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023), two FA Cups (2019 and 2023), three League Cups (2019, 2020 and 2021), the 2018 Community Shield and, above all, the 2023 Champions League.

At Al-Ahli, Mahrez went on to win two consecutive AFC Champions League titles in 2025 and 2026, as well as the 2025 Saudi Super Cup. With the Fennecs, he is of course still associated with their 2019 Africa Cup of Nations triumph, one of the major moments of his career.

After closing the Al-Ahli chapter, Mahrez is now embarking on a new adventure in Qatar, with the ambition of adding a few more lines to an already exceptional trophy haul.

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Mahdi Zakaria LAZRI |

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Football web writer creating digital sports content with a focus on news, analysis and stories that reflect passion, accuracy and objectivity.

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