Manchester City have agreed a £30m deal for Al-Ahli to sign Algeria winger Riyad Mahrez.
The 32-year-old has been given permission not to travel on City’s pre-season trip to Japan and South Korea.
That had already been agreed providing City received a bid that matched their valuation of Mahrez, who had two years left on his contract.
City paid £60m for Mahrez in 2018 and he scored 15 goals from 47 games last season as the Blues won the Treble.
However, he was an unused substitute for both the FA Cup and Champions League finals and manager Pep Guardiola has opted to let him become the latest big-name recruit by a Saudi Pro-League side.
The likes of Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante and Ruben Neves have followed Cristiano Ronaldo to Saudi Arabia this summer, while Steven Gerrard has been named Al-Ettifaq manager and Michael Emenalo has been appointed the SPL’s director of football.
The country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has also taken over four of the SPL’s leading clubs as the league aims to become one of the top five in the world.
