February 14 – He lit up the Asian Cup for the host nation but will he ultimately be Europe-bound again?
Akram Afif (pictured centre) underlined his credentials as one of Asia’s finest forwards with a hattrick in the final to guide his country to back-to-back titles. He also won the most valuable player of the tournament and top-scored with eight goals.
But at 27 is the Al-Sadd forward set to become his country’s most valuable footballing export?
At the start of this tournament, he said he had dreams of returning to Europe having previously played for Eupen in the Belgian Pro League.
He later became the first Qatari player to be signed by a La Liga club when he moved to Villarreal in 2016, but he was loaned out to Sporting Gijon before returning to Eupen and finally to Al-Sadd in 2018.
Of the two finalists, only one player was currently based in Europe – Jordan’s Mousa Tamari, who plays for Montpellier in France, leaving a potential pool of untapped talent.
Afif is at the top of that list, arguably now playing at his peak
“I talked about becoming a professional player (in Europe). But it’s not me who decides. My wife also has to make the decision for me. It’s not easy to leave the club and country,” Afif told reporters. “There are so many factors. If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.”
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