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Mahrez signs with Al-Shamal and discovers a fourth country in his career

Free since the end of his contract with Al-Ahli, Riyad Mahrez has found a new club. The 35-year-old Algerian winger joins Al-Shamal, fifth in Qatar Stars League, for the 2026-2027 season.

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Mahrez signs with Al-Shamal and discovers a fourth country in his career
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Riyad Mahrez has ended his months without a club by signing with Al-Shamal, a Qatari side currently fifth in Qatar Stars League. The 35-year-old Algerian winger, free since his contract with Al-Ahli expired at the end of the season, continues his career in the Middle East.

After France — where he developed at Quimper and then Le Havre — England, where he won the Premier League title with Leicester in 2016 before joining Manchester City, and Saudi Arabia with Al-Ahli, the Clichy native is now adding Qatar to his list of destinations. He will reunite there with his compatriot Baghdad Bounedjah, also playing for Al-Shamal.

The Qatari club has not hidden its pride in attracting the 2019 African champion, posting on social media: “The world knows his name. Now it wears ours.” A prestigious signing for a team looking to climb the Qatar Stars League standings.

Retired from international football last year, Mahrez has not hung up his boots. This contract covering the 2026-2027 season could be the final chapter of a career that has taken him from French lower divisions to the heights of the Premier League and the Ligue des Champions.

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