Mystery transfer! Al Ahli announced a signing — then everything disappeared
The transfer of Artem Bondarenko to Al Ahli has suddenly turned into one of the strangest sagas of the summer.
Details: During the night, Al Ahli officially published an announcement about the signing of Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Artem Bondarenko. However, shortly afterwards, the publication disappeared from the Saudi club's social media accounts. The situation became even more mysterious because Fabrizio Romano had previously reported that the Ukrainian midfielder was joining Al Ahli for €18 million, only to delete his post as well.
According to Saudi journalist Mohammad Al-Bukairi, the removal of Romano's publication was not accidental. He claims that Al Ahli's sporting director personally asked the well-known insider to delete the post because the information about the transfer fee had allegedly increased the pressure surrounding him inside the club and could even jeopardize the deal.
The potential signing has already caused a strong reaction among Al Ahli supporters, with part of the fanbase openly criticizing the club's decision to pursue the Ukrainian midfielder. For now, despite the deleted announcement and Romano's erased post, there has been no verified confirmation that the transfer itself has collapsed.
It is worth noting that Transfermarkt currently lists Bondarenko as a Shakhtar Donetsk player, with his contract running until December 2028, and values the 25-year-old attacking midfielder at €8 million. In the 2026/27 Ukrainian Premier League season, he has so far made one appearance for Shakhtar.
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Steven Perez
Dailysports's expert
