Sharjah FC bring in Egypt defender Abdelkarim Mostafa in €1.04m Ismaily move

Egypt centre-back Abdelkarim Mostafa has joined Sharjah FC from Ismaily for €1.04m, completing a move to the UAE Pro League club.

The 23-year-old has signed a contract with Sharjah running until 30 June 2028. Mostafa, who was born in El Minya, becomes a new defensive option for the Emirati side after spending the previous part of his career in Egypt.

Mostafa made the switch to Sharjah on 3 August 2026, with the transfer fee representing a significant increase on the €90,000 Ismaily paid to sign him from El Makasa in January 2024. He spent more than two years with Ismaily before moving abroad for the first time.

The left-footed defender has been used primarily at centre-back and stands 1.80m tall. His recorded competitive career includes 48 Premier League appearances, with two goals and three assists, as well as 17 appearances in the relegation play-off. He also played seven times in the Egyptian League Cup, scoring twice, and made seven Egyptian Cup appearances.

Mostafa’s figures amount to 79 recorded appearances across those competitions, with five goals and three assists. His goalscoring record includes the two Premier League strikes and two Egyptian League Cup goals registered during his time in domestic football.

The move takes Mostafa from Ismaily, an Egyptian club, to Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. It is his second transfer since leaving El Makasa, where he began the recorded sequence of his senior club career before joining Ismaily during the 2023-24 season.

Sharjah have agreed a deal for a defender whose market value was listed at €400,000 before the transfer. Mostafa’s arrival also marks a new stage in the career of a player who has so far played his club football in Egypt and now has a contract in the UAE lasting two seasons beyond the current campaign.

The transfer was completed on 3 August, with Mostafa joining Sharjah from Ismaily for €1.04m on a contract through June 2028.