Ahmed Suleiman, a member of the Zamalek SC board of directors, confirmed that the negotiation file with Ahmed Sayed Zizo prior to his departure from the team witnessed the intervention of a large number of people, considering this a major administrative error.
Suleiman said in statements via MBC Masr channel: "The number of people who negotiated with Zizo before his departure from Zamalek reached 11 or 12 individuals, which is a major administrative error. I was among those who negotiated with the player, and there were many others outside the board of directors, such as Mamdouh Abbas and Amr El-Ganainy."
He added: "There is a new trend currently, such as Zizo’s father being his agent, Fattouh’s uncle being his agent, Bezeira’s father being his agent, and Hossam Abdel-Magid’s brother being his agent. This is a new phenomenon that did not exist in Egyptian football, and it causes some problems in negotiating with players."
The Zamalek board member addressed the file of Ahmed Fattouh, clarifying: "Fattouh received offers like many other players, but the figure that angered me was $700,000, while I am competing for the African championship, hoping to win it and earn large sums."
Suleiman added: "There are many players who do advertisements to promote their names, and there are those who do not. I object to selling Fattouh because my goal is to win the CAF Champions League, and the player will help me achieve that, at which point I will receive $20 million."
Ahmed Suleiman objects to signing Al-Zanati
Regarding the position of sporting director, Ahmed Suleiman criticized the experience of appointing a players' agent to this role, saying: "We previously contracted with a players' agent and made him sporting director. This position must be held by a former player or a football expert, not a players' agent whose nature of work is buying and selling."
He continued: "We saw ZED when they appointed a sporting director; they chose Hany Ramzy. It is not permissible for me to contract with a board member to take on the position of sporting director."
Suleiman revealed that the board of directors did not take his opinion into account regarding negotiations with Hossam Al-Zanati for the sporting director position, asking: "Why would I appoint an engineer as sporting director, when the most he has done is work in the competitions committee? As I said, this position must be held by a former football player."
