Omar Benis, president of the sports company at Maghreb Fes Club, revealed the behind-the-scenes details of Sofiane Benjdida joining Al Ahly Club, and how he pressured the Red Castle to secure a large financial offer.
Omar Benis, the president, said in media statements: "Before I entered the field of football, my work was in negotiation; I spent my entire life in negotiations, and during the negotiation process, each person has his own cards of strength".
He continued: "Before I appeared on the program, I spent a whole week talking with Al Ahly; they were making offers that did not please me, but their mistake was that they did not submit an official offer. When I was asked on the program, I said that we had not received an official offer, and I also said why would Sofiane move to a club that will play in the Confederation Cup while we will play in the African Champions League?".
He added: "I provoked them, and when I finished the episode on the program, an email with the official offer reached me, and they began to speak more seriously. In the end, we reached an offer of more than 20 million dirhams; this was a negotiation game".
When asked whether it was true that the penalty clause value was leaked, which made you agree to sell the player, he replied: "No, Sofiane Benjdida is a player we had been following for a while, specifically since April 2023, and the first to recommend him to us was Captain Tarek Chihab. When Captain Badr watched him, he was impressed by his abilities and we decided to sign him".
He continued: "We tried to convince him to join the team, but frankly the previous mercato was difficult to sign players because every player who heard about Maghreb Fes's problems, lawsuits, and dues was afraid to come, and we were finishing the league in lower positions, and the situation was difficult".
He pointed out: "Sofiane at the beginning wanted to continue in Europe, but we managed to convince him. When we were negotiating, he asked for a large salary, and he wanted the contract to be for only one year. I have a principle that I do not contract with any player for less than 3 years".
He added: "After negotiations, he said if I sign for 3 years, there must be a penalty clause so that I can leave at any time when an offer comes to me, and we agreed on that and approved his salary, and we set a penalty clause of 5 million dirhams".
He continued: "But when the season started, and Sofiane was scoring goals every week, I was telling myself that certainly a club would come and pay the penalty clause and get the player, and I could not prevent him. But Sofiane is a respectable player, and I thank him for that; he stayed with us for 4 months, and everything we promised him he found on the ground, and he felt that he had returned to his level again".
He added: "After that, I convinced him to renew the contract and raise the value of the penalty clause significantly, and in return we added two years to the contract and raised the financial compensation, and increased the signing bonus. I convinced him of something important; I told him you are now doing well, but it is possible you could suffer an anterior cruciate ligament injury, and then no one would know what your future would look like. Therefore, it is better for your contract to be 5 years to guarantee you this future, and also there is a penalty clause that allows you to leave at any time if a suitable offer comes to you, and the player agreed".
He stressed: "When the season ended, Al Ahly was the club most insistent on signing him, and in the end the player himself told me I want to move to Al Ahly. I told him these are our demands, and negotiations began because they knew the value of the penalty clause".
He confirmed: "The leaking of the penalty clause did happen, but it did not weaken our position in the negotiation because Sofiane was a man and told Al Ahly that you must first reach an agreement with Maghreb Fes, and I agree to your offer. We allowed Al Ahly to negotiate with the player officially, because if they had contacted him without our approval, we could have complained about them to FIFA".
He stressed: "In the end, whether there was a penalty clause or not, if the same amount had reached me and the player told me I want to leave, I would have agreed, because it is not right to prevent a player who will receive a salary 5 or 6 times greater than what he receives from me".
When asked whether this means that the salary Al Ahly offered the player was impossible for him to obtain in Morocco, he replied: "And more than that; his salary with Al Ahly is approximately equal to the total salaries of the three biggest clubs in Morocco if divided among them. We must be realistic; Sofiane was one of the best scorers in Africa, and it was natural for him to receive this offer".
He concluded his remarks by clarifying the clubs that sent offers to sign Sofiane Benjdida, saying: "Al Ahly and Pyramids only; the latter sent first, but the Red Castle began negotiations since last March, while the rest of the clubs were just contacts through agents or club officials".
