Morocco international Achraf Bencharki, whose contract with Al Ahly expires at the end of the 2026-2027 season, is seeing his extension held up by the salary cap for foreign players, while Pyramids FC are positioning themselves to sign him on a free.
Achraf Bencharki’s future at Al Ahly remains up in the air. According to Goal.com, talks over extending the Moroccan forward’s deal are stalling on salary disagreements.
The file is not yet officially open: the board plans to open it after settling that of defender Mohamed Hany. Meanwhile, Pyramids FC, their rival in the Egyptian Premier League, have positioned themselves to sign the player on a free next summer.
A salary cap that sticks
Al Ahly apply a strict salary policy for their foreign players: the cap sits between $900,000 and $1.1 million a year, Goal.com reports. Yet Achraf Bencharki is currently understood to earn more than the scale set by the Cairo hierarchy, which complicates the signing of a new deal.
The next talks between the club’s board and the player’s agent will be decisive: they will determine whether the Morocco international agrees to fall in line with the salary scale.
For now, the forward has not signed any official pre-contract with a rival side, Goal.com specifies. No departure is therefore confirmed.
Pyramids FC lying in wait
According to Goal.com, Pyramids FC have positioned themselves to sign Bencharki on a free at the end of his contract. Egyptian sports journalist Karim Hassan Shehata, from the Egyptian media, states: “I learned from a reliable source at Pyramids that the club wishes to sign Achraf Bencharki, starting from next season in a free transfer.”
This interest remains a rumour, attributed to Egyptian sources, and not an official fact.
A flying start to the season
On the pitch, Achraf Bencharki has made an excellent start to the campaign and is among the most in-form members of Cairo’s attacking set-up, Goal.com stresses. That good form only raises the stakes of his extension, with Al Ahly competing on several fronts, notably in the Confederation Cup.
The club must also handle Mohamed Hany’s file. According to Seif Zaher, a columnist and media presenter on Egyptian television, the board plans to formally open the Bencharki file once the defender’s situation is finalised. “Al Ahly will move to open the file on renewing Achraf Bencharki’s contract after settling the Mohamed Hany file, in order to determine the Moroccan player’s position and the possibility of his continuing with the team in the coming period.”
Al Ahly return to Egyptian league action on Wednesday 21 October 2026, against Qanah FC.