Omar Kamal open to Zamalek move after revealing Al Ahly exit was not football-related

Omar Kamal says he would consider joining Zamalek if they wanted to sign him, while claiming former coach Hussein Ammouta treated him badly during a training session.

The El Mokawloon El Arab player, who previously played for Al Ahly, said he would not rule out a move to any club despite his previous association with the Egyptian champions.

“I am a professional player and I was honoured to play for Al Ahly, but I would not object to moving to any club in the world that wanted me,” Kamal said in an interview with DMC.

Kamal also said he would celebrate if he scored against Al Ahly, but only in a specific way.

“If I score against Al Ahly, I will celebrate by prostrating only,” he said.

The player moved to El Mokawloon El Arab during the previous summer transfer window. He said his departure from Al Ahly had left him feeling unfairly treated and was not prompted by footballing reasons.

“I felt I had been treated unfairly after leaving Al Ahly, and I did not leave for technical reasons,” Kamal said.

He also rejected suggestions that he had a long-term injury, explaining that he had travelled to Al Ahly while on loan at Ceramica Cleopatra to undergo rehabilitation under Ahmed Samih.

“I do not suffer from any chronic injury,” he said.

Kamal added: “I went to Al Ahly when I was on loan at Ceramica Cleopatra to undergo rehabilitation under Ahmed Samih. Then I found people at Ceramica Cleopatra saying that I was being rehabilitated at Al Ahly, and comments emerged from Ceramica Cleopatra’s sporting director, Moataz El-Batsh, that I had a chronic hamstring injury.”

Ammouta training incident

Kamal claimed his relationship with Ammouta deteriorated after an incident during a training exercise.

“Hussein Ammouta treated me badly during one of the training sessions,” he said.

He explained that an assistant coach had initially given him a shirt intended for one side during a practice match, but that he was subsequently placed with the opposing team.

“The assistant coach gave me a special shirt for one team during a training game. Then I found that my name was with the other team, so I asked the assistant coach to change the shirt, but he insisted that this was correct,” Kamal said.

“During the training session, Ammouta discovered the mistake and spoke to me angrily. He told me that I was not focused and did not understand anything. I then told him not to speak to me in that way and left.

“After that, his treatment changed. I was left out of his plans and he asked for me to train with the academy players.”

Kamal said he was told he would not be included in the squad’s training camp in Spain only four days before it began, despite completing the entire pre-season programme.

“I found out that I was outside the Spain camp four days before it started, even though I had completed the whole pre-season. I held a meeting with Sayed Abdel Hafiz in the presence of my father,” he said.

The former Al Ahly player also defended Waleed Salah El-Din, saying the club’s former football director had been unfairly criticised.

“Waleed Salah El-Din was treated very unfairly. He did everything to make the players feel comfortable. It is rare to see a football director who does not want to deduct money from players’ wages,” Kamal said.

He suggested that differences in salaries might have affected the relationship between players and could have contributed to Salah El-Din’s departure.

“It is possible that the way players dealt with one another changed because of differences in salaries, and perhaps that was one of the reasons for his departure,” he added.

Kamal also revealed that he had rejected a lucrative offer from Pyramids FC before joining Al Ahly.

“I rejected an offer from Pyramids worth 80 million Egyptian pounds to join Al Ahly, who received 30% of Pyramids’ offer,” he said.

He added that Al Ahly had not paid him any outstanding money during the current season before his departure.

“I did not receive any dues from Al Ahly during the current season before I left, but what belongs to Al Ahly does not go away,” Kamal said.