Al Sadd players reached Abha, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday to participate in the King Salman Club Championship, which will be held from July 27 to August 12. Al Sadd are drawn in Group B alongside Saudi’s Al Hilal, Moroccan Wydad and Libya’s Al Ahly Tripoli with 16 Arab teams participating in the tournament.
The team’s delegation consists of 27 players, with club’s CEO Turki al-Ali accompanying the team along with other officials. The team concluded their final training session on Monday at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, with the participation of all players. During the session, the coaching staff, led by Portuguese head coach Bruno Miguel, focused on physical, technical, and tactical aspects.
Squad: Saad al-Dosari, Meshaal Barsham, Yousef al-Balushi, Hassan al-Haydos, Guilherme Torres, Pedro Miguel, Ahmed Sayyar, Paulo Otavio, Abdullah al-Yazidi, Mateus Uribe, Baghdad Bounedjah, Akram Afif, Khoukhi Boualem, Salem al-Hajri, Ahmed al-Saadi, Hashim Ali, Amin Hazbawi, Gonzalo Plata, Romain Saiss, Ali Asad, Musaab Khidir, Mustafa Tarek Meshaal, Yousuf Abdurisag, Ahmed Suhail, Mahdi Salem, Tarek Salman, and Mohamed Waad.

Morocco’s Saiss joins Sadd from Besiktas
Meanwhile, Al Sadd announced the signing of Morocco’s Romain Saiss from Turkish side Besiktas on a two-year contract. The Qatari giants made the announcement on Monday, sharing a video on their social media platform of the Atlas Lions’ captain wearing Al Sadd’s jersey.
Besiktas confirmed the transfer in a statement saying, “Besiktas JK has informed KAP (Turkiye’s Public Disclosure Platform) that an agreement has been reached with Al Sadd SC regarding the transfer of our professional football player Romain Saiss.”
Besiktas said they will receive a guarantee fee of €2.5mn and a conditional fee of €300,000 from Sadd for Saiss. The 33-year-old defender had a successful stint at Besiktas, where he showcased his defensive skills.
Prior to his time in Turkiye, Saiss had played for French side Le Havre, Angers SCO and Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers. Several European clubs were reportedly interested in signing the Saiss, who was integral part of Morocco’s run to the semi-finals at the 2022 Qatar World Cup. However, he has evidently decided to pursue a new challenge in Qatar. With more than 70 international appearances, Saiss brings a wealth of experience and prowess to Al Sadd’s defensive lineup.
Meanwhile, Sadd also have signed Ecuadorian Gonzalo Plata from Spanish club Real Valladolid on a five-year contract. But the Wolves were dealt a major blow as their Brazilian striker Giovani Henrique suffered a torn cruciate ligament and cartilage injury during the recent friendly match against Raja CA of Morocco. Giovani sustained the injury in the early minutes of the game and as a result will be unavailable for the remainder of the season with the Al Sadd team.

Duhail sign South Korean Kim Moon Huan
Al Duhail have signed South Korea’s Kim Moon Huan from twice Asian champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. The 27-year-old midfielder has earlier played for Busan IPark in the Korean league besides playing in the US Major League for Los Angeles before joining Jeonbuk. Huan has also represented South Korea. He is the second professional from Korea to join Al Duhail after the experienced Nam Tae Hee.