Al-Ittihad’s Anis Hadj Moussa deal collapses over £36m bank guarantee

Al-Ittihad’s attempt to sign Feyenoord winger Anis Hadj Moussa has collapsed at the final stage, despite the player’s approval and clear desire to join the Saudi club, after the two sides failed to agree on a bank guarantee for the transfer.

According to Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat, negotiations formally broke down even though Al-Ittihad and Feyenoord had reached a preliminary agreement last Wednesday. The proposed deal would have taken the Algeria international to Saudi Arabia for an initial €27m, rising to €29m with add-ons, on a four-year contract.

The transfer became the longest-running pursuit of the window for Al-Ittihad and had appeared close to completion. However, Feyenoord’s financial conditions ultimately proved impossible for the Saudi club to accept.

Al-Ittihad increased its offer several times during the negotiations after Feyenoord requested further additions and guarantees. The Saudi club’s decision was also influenced by coach Jens Wissing, who had identified Hadj Moussa as a leading priority after the proposed move for Japan international Ritsu Doan stalled.

The final offer was worth €37.5m up front, with bonuses and other additions capable of taking the total value to €42m. That represented a significant increase on the club’s original budget, with Al-Ittihad’s executive committee and sporting administration raising the proposed package by more than €10m.

Yet the decisive obstacle was not the transfer fee itself. Feyenoord insisted on receiving a full bank guarantee covering the payments agreed as part of the deal, a condition Al-Ittihad considered excessive given its current circumstances.

The guarantee would have required the entire €42m to be placed in a dedicated, frozen account. The money would then have remained locked until the dates set for each payment, preventing Al-Ittihad from using the substantial funds for the duration of the agreement.

Al-Ittihad regarded that arrangement as impossible and unreasonable, particularly after agreeing to make major financial concessions in order to satisfy Feyenoord’s demands and secure the player wanted by Wissing.

Feyenoord had initially been inclined to sell Hadj Moussa and benefit from what would have been a record transfer fee for the club. However, there was not complete agreement within the Dutch side over the proposed departure.

Both the sporting director and the head coach were understood to have reservations about allowing the winger to leave. Those concerns gave Feyenoord further justification for insisting on the bank guarantee as a condition of completing the transfer.

The result is the collapse of one of the most complicated negotiations of Al-Ittihad’s summer recruitment campaign. The Saudi club had secured the player’s approval, maintained his interest and pushed its offer well beyond the amount originally planned, but the agreement ultimately failed because it could not provide the financial guarantee demanded by Feyenoord.