Al Shabab complete free transfer for Saudi defender Ali Al-Bulaihi

Al Shabab have signed Saudi Arabia international defender Ali Al-Bulaihi on a one-year contract, but the announcement has attracted attention because of a phrase widely associated with their city rivals Al Hilal.

The club confirmed the deal on its official X account after Al Hilal announced earlier on Tuesday that it had reached a financial settlement with the 36-year-old, bringing his nine-year spell at the Riyadh club to an end.

Rather than simply announcing the transfer, Al Shabab added the message: “Ali Al-Bulaihi in the capital’s giant”.

The phrase is used by Al Hilal supporters to describe their own team, and its use in Al Shabab’s announcement led some fans to view the post as a deliberate provocation towards their neighbours and rivals.

Al Shabab also accompanied the statement with the wording “Ali Al-Bulaihi” and the hashtag “#CapitalGiant”, alongside the club’s colours.

Al-Bulaihi will return to Al Shabab as a free agent after spending the second half of last season with the club on loan from Al Hilal. His permanent move completes a return to the side where he previously played before establishing himself as a long-serving member of the Al Hilal squad.

The defender joined Al Hilal from Al Fateh in the summer of 2017 and remained with the club for nine years. During that period, he made 263 appearances in all competitions, scoring 23 goals.

He also helped Al Hilal win 14 trophies, including the Saudi Pro League title five times and the AFC Champions League twice.

Al-Bulaihi’s departure was confirmed in the early hours of Tuesday, when Al Hilal announced the financial settlement that allowed him to leave the club. Al Shabab subsequently confirmed that the defender would continue his career with them on a one-season agreement.

The transfer brings the experienced centre-back back to a club he represented on loan last season, while also ending one of the longest spells of his career. However, it was the wording of Al Shabab’s social-media post, rather than the contract itself, that became the main talking point surrounding the move.

Al Hilal and Al Shabab are both based in the Saudi capital, making the reference to the “capital’s giant” particularly significant to supporters of the two clubs. For Al Hilal fans, the description traditionally belongs to their team, while Al Shabab’s decision to use it for Al-Bulaihi’s arrival added an element of rivalry to an otherwise straightforward transfer announcement.

After nine seasons at Al Hilal, the defender now begins a new chapter with Al Shabab, having already spent part of the previous campaign with the club. His record of 263 matches, 23 goals and 14 major honours underlines the experience he brings to his new side.