Hadj Moussa deal off between Feyenoord and Al Ittihad due to bank guarantee and politics

Hadj Moussa has been the subject of a transfer saga involving Saudi side Al Ittihad since the Dutch Deadline Day on Wednesday. Al Ittihad reportedly submitted a €30 million bid for the Algerian winger, which Feyenoord technical director Devy Rigaux said they wouldn't accept.

The saga took another turn on Saturday, when Hadj Moussa was left out of the matchday squad for Feyenoord's game against NEC Nijmegen. After arriving late for both a team meeting and the team bus, Hadj Moussa was left at the team hotel for "not having his head in the right place," according to manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

After Feyenoord also rejected an offer worth up to €37.5 million, the Rotterdam club reportedly received and verbally accepted Al Ittihad's latest offer with a total fee of around €42.5 million on Sunday. 

Feyenoord asked Al Ittihad for a bank guarantee before agreeing to release Hadj Moussa, but the Saudi club refused, saying it was unnecessary and unfeasible to obtain one before Sunday evening's transfer deadline, according to Ben Jacobs.

Following the late obstacles, Feyenoord directors Devy Rigaux and Robert Eenhoorn blocked Hadj Moussa's potential move, keeping the disgruntled Algerian international in the squad until at least January.

The potential transfer of Hadj Moussa also would've been costly for Feyenoord on an organisational level, with Vrienden van Feyenoord, a group of wealthy supporters and investors who saved the Rotterdam club from bankruptcy in 2010 by injecting millions into it and backed Robert Eenhoorn's hiring this past summer, threatening to leave the board if Hadj Moussa was sold after the Dutch transfer deadline.

The transfer fee would've easily broken Feyenoord's club record of €32 million from the Mats Wieffer deal with Brighton in 2024.

The transfer would've left Feyenoord without their star player, who was registered for their UEFA Champions League campaign on Thursday. Eredivisie top scorer Ayase Ueda joined Lille on Monday for €15 million, leaving Hadj Moussa as the last big-name attacker in the squad.

Hadj Moussa, 24, joined Feyenoord from Belgian side Patro Eisden in 2024 and has since become the team's biggest star. After recording 11 goal contributions in the Eredivisie in his first season, the right winger scored 11 goals and assisted a further 6 in 30 league games.