Ambition and the club’s fans are behind my move to Al-Ahly Jeddah

Senegalese Edouard Mendy said that the great public enthusiasm and ambition were behind his transfer to Al-Ahly, which is returning to the Saudi Professional Football League, highlighting the great progress made by the competition, which has become attractive to stars.

On Wednesday, Al-Ahly announced the contract with Mendy, 31, from Chelsea, for a period of three years.

The Saudi League became an attraction for the stars after Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Al-Nassr at the end of last year.

The league champion, Al-Ittihad, signed a contract with French duo Karim Benzema and Ngolo Kante, and Al-Hilal announced the contract with Portuguese Robin Neves, captain of Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Mendy said in an interview with his new team’s YouTube channel: I think the Saudi Professional League is getting better. We can see all the big names coming in and I’m sure other stars will arrive soon.

The player who won the award for the best goalkeeper in the world in 2021 added: To be part of a historic club like Al-Ahly is a privilege and a great honor. When he contacted me, I started watching some videos on YouTube and saw the great atmosphere of the fans in the stands. I think when you play football at the highest level as a player what you need is this kind of atmosphere. I know this club is very ambitious and I am ambitious so joining this great club for me was obvious and natural.

And he added: As I said, it is a club with a great history and many titles, and it wants to win every match. I play football in order to win titles, so it is natural for me to be here to compete for championships.

Mendy played for several French clubs, the most recent of which was Stade Rennes, before moving to Chelsea in 2020.

Mendy won the European Champions League, the European Super Cup and the Club World Cup with Chelsea, and he crowned his country, Senegal, with the recent African Cup of Nations.