Julian Draxler has set foot on Qatari soil.
Qatar Stars League side Al Ahli SC shared a photo of Draxler in the club’s muffler on their website on Saturday, saying, “The former Germany and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) player has arrived in Doha to join Al Ahli. He will undergo a medical.” The move is pending.
The transfer is a done deal. Loic Tanzi, who works for French outlet L’Equipe and is a well-known PSG source, announced on social media on Tuesday that “PSG have agreed to send Marco Verratti and Draxler to Qatar after weeks of negotiations. It could be a page in PSG history. Verratti will join Al Arabi and Draxler will join Al Ahli,” the club announced.
Indeed, Verratti’s departure to Al Arabi was already officially announced a week later. Draxler has arrived in Doha, Qatar, to begin the process of joining Al Ahli.
PSG was acquired by Qatar Sports Invest (QSI) in 2011. The club has seen a number of high-profile signings from around the world, including some from oil money. The best is the ‘MNM line’. Neymar broke the world record with his €220 million (approx. KRW 315.4 billion) signing. Mbappe left AS Monaco for €180 million. Lionel Messi was signed as a free agent, but for an astronomical fee.
The goal was clear. Win the UEFA Champions League (UCL), soccer’s most prestigious competition. PSG was going to do it with the “MNM line” of Messi, Mbappe, and Neymar. It was a game-changing combination, but it was all for naught. PSG’s pride was shattered as they were knocked out in the round of 16 for the second consecutive season by Real in 2021-22 (2-3 on aggregate) and Bayern Munich in 2022-23 (0-3 on aggregate).
After the end of the season, a new game plan began. First, they said goodbye to Messi, whose relationship with them had cooled after his unauthorized trip to Saudi Arabia. Neymar, who was constantly rumored to be on his way out, also left. They stayed together until preseason, but their longtime partnership came to an end.
Both Messi and Neymar expressed their disappointment. Last month, Messi said, “I didn’t want to go to PSG. It was hard because I didn’t want to leave Barcelona, but now it’s the complete opposite,” Messi said. Neymar added: “Messi and I both had a hell of a life at PSG. We tried to become champions and complete the history. But unfortunately, we didn’t. Messi was unfairly blamed for the defeat,” Neymar recalled of the end of his time in Paris.소닉카지노
It’s also goodbye to Draxler. After signing for €36 million in 2017, he anchored the Paris midfield alongside Verratti for many years. Each year, he was hampered by injuries, big and small, but he did his job every time he stepped on the pitch. But even he couldn’t escape the purge. Draxler will be playing in Qatar after joining Al Ahli.