A free agent after three years at Al-Ahli, Riyad Mahrez, 35, has signed a one-season deal with Qatari club Al-Shamal, where he will reunite with Baghdad Bounedjah, his Algeria teammate.
Qatari club Al-Shamal SC have made official the signing of Riyad Mahrez, the 35-year-old right winger. According to La Gazette du Fennec, he has signed for one season as a free agent.
The player had been without a club since the end of his spell at Al-Ahli, in Saudi Arabia. He spent three years there before being released at the end of last season, reports Les Transferts. In Doha, he reunites with Baghdad Bounedjah, Al-Shamal’s centre-forward and his Algeria national team teammate, as Le Soir d’Algérie recalls.
A medical and training sessions
Mahrez underwent his medical and took part in his first group sessions under the Qatari staff, in Doha, according to La Gazette du Fennec. The administrative procedures for his registration were approved on 14 and 15 October with the Qatari federation, according to the same source.
In its statement, Al-Shamal SC introduced the player in these terms: “The world knows his name. Now he wears ours. Riyad Mahrez.” A second message, cited by FOOTALGERIEN, continued: “His left foot wrote history… and our ambition is to write the next chapter. Riyad Mahrez… in the colours of Al-Shamal.”
A continental trophy haul at Al-Ahli
With Al-Ahli, Mahrez won two consecutive editions of the AFC Champions League Elite, in 2025 and 2026, FOOTALGERIEN points out. A double continental title that preceded his release, confirmed at the end of the past campaign.
Al-Shamal’s new recruit has also just played the 2026 World Cup in North America with Algeria, where he scored 2 goals and provided 1 assist, according to Tribuna. His international adventure, however, ended in the round of 32, with a 2-0 defeat to Switzerland in Vancouver, a match after which his international retirement was confirmed, FOOTALGERIEN reports.
Al-Shamal, fifth in the Qatar Stars League
Al-Shamal currently sit fifth in the Qatar Stars League and have qualified for the AFC Champions League, according to OneFootball. The Qatari club are thus signing a player with two AFC Champions League Elite titles to his name with Al-Ahli.
A former Leicester and Manchester City player, Mahrez, 35, was at Al-Ahli before signing for Al-Shamal, where he reunites with Bounedjah. His first official appearance in an Al-Shamal shirt is expected on the next matchday of the Qatari league.