And on Thursday, Al-Ahly, the African champion for the past two editions, announced the renewal of the contract of its international defender for two additional seasons, so that the player would continue to defend the colors of the Red Castle after 5 years, during which he was one of the main pillars of the team.
And Al-Ahly’s contracting director, Amir Tawfiq, announced an official agreement with Maaloul to sign the terms of the new contract, in exchange for one million and 250 thousand dollars in his first season, and one million and 350 thousand dollars in the second, in addition to advertising revenues that he will make.
But prior to his participation with the Tunisian national team in the 2022 African Nations Cup, Ali Maaloul caused an uproar in the football arena in Tunisia due to the great discrepancy between his remarkable level with Al-Ahly compared to his modest performance in the “Carthage Eagles” squad, which caused a violent campaign targeting him through social networking sites. After participating with the national team in the Arab Cup hosted by Qatar last month.
“Aloulou” was subjected to harsh criticism after his absence from most of Tunisia’s matches in the tournament under the pretext of injury, as he contented himself with appearing in the opening match against Mauritania and then entered as a substitute in the final against Algeria, but on the other hand, he appeared mainly with Al-Ahly in the African Super Cup match against Moroccan Raja a few days later. Few of the Arab Cup final, and he gave profusely and scored the first penalty kick for his team, paving the way for the title.
After the Al-Ahly and Raja match, where the first won the African Super title for the second time in a row, a journalist asked Maaloul about the reason for his great brilliance with his team in return for his decline in his performance whenever he participated with the Tunisian national team, but the top scorer was disturbed by the question and refused to answer before leaving the area designated for obtaining statements.
Puzzle
Opinions were divided in the football street in Tunisia about the contrast of Maaloul’s level with Al-Ahly and the national team, but the fans of the Tunisian club Sfaxien, the original team of the player, strongly attacked the coach of the “Carthage Eagles”, Al-Mundhir Al-Kabeer, stressing that it is the first reason why he did not appear with the same glow that characterizes him when wearing a shirt. Al Ahly.
Sfaxien fans also launched a campaign against the team doctor, Suhail Al-Shamli, considering that he was unable to diagnose the player’s injury in the first match of the Arab Cup, which deprived him and the Tunisian team of his services in the tournament matches. He wasn’t quite ready for the games.”
In parallel with the escalating controversy on the communication platforms, Tunisian journalist Hilmi Jablawi detonated another bomb, when he revealed in an interview on the same radio that Maaloul refused to participate with the Tunisian national team in the Arab Cup semi-final against Egypt, in order to avoid embarrassment and to avoid facing the Egyptian masses, according to the journalist.
In an interview with “Sky News Arabia”, the former captain of the Tunisian national team, Khaled Badra, revealed that the ongoing debate regarding Maaloul’s return with the team “will have serious repercussions on the results of the Carthage Eagles in the 2022 African Nations Cup.”
Badra said: “It is inconceivable that the Football Association and the medical staff of the Tunisian national team would not put an end to the controversy and accusations against the player, and the campaign launched by some fans claiming that Maaloul refused to play in the Arab Cup finals in order to be ready in the best way with Al-Ahly Club, why not Was there no coordination between the doctor of the Tunisian national team and his counterpart in Al-Ahly?
Badra, who led Tunisia to the 2004 African Nations Cup, added: “Maaloul does not bear responsibility for what is happening now. When he participated with the Tunisian national team, he presented an amazing level, but the question that arises is: Why did the Tunisian Football Association and the coach of the great Al-Mundhir team announce that Maaloul complains From an injury, and the case is that he showed complete readiness and performed a remarkable performance when he competed in the Super Final with Al-Ahly against Raja? The issue almost turns into a mystery, but I exonerate the player that he refused to perform his duty towards his country.”
Wholesale titles and achievements
Ali Maaloul, born in Sfax in southern Tunisia in 1990, is considered one of the most prominent players in Al-Ahly, and since his arrival in the summer of 2016, he quickly became an indispensable pillar of the team, and contributed to a large number of victories and titles, which brought him closer to the hearts of the fans.
Maaloul played in Sfaxien between 2009 and 2016, and crowned him with the Tunisian League and the African Confederation Cup, while with Al-Ahly, within 5 years, he won 12 titles, including the African Champions League on two occasions and the African Super twice, and the Egyptian League title 4 times as well as the Egypt Cup on two occasions And individually, he won the award for the best foreign player in the Egyptian League for the 2018-2019 season, and with Al-Ahly he achieved third place in the Club World Cup last year.
With Tunisia, he played 74 matches, and reached the Arab Cup final last December, but lost it to Algeria.
Maaloul has a clear offensive tendency, as his defensive position did not prevent him from scoring 40 goals with Sfaxien and 35 with Al-Ahly.
.