Abdelkarim Hassan
Doha: Former Asian Footballer of the Year and Qatar national team defender Abdelkarim Hassan has left his QNB Stars League (QSL) side, Al Sadd, the club, announced yesterday in a short statement on its social media platforms.
The left-back, called ‘Kimo’ around the club, has been a regular at Al Sadd, having played around 200 games for the record QSL champions since he graduated from the famous Aspire Academy.
“Al Sadd SC announces that Abdelkarim Hassan has left the team permanently, as his outlook does not match the club’s goals and aspirations for the upcoming period,” Al Sadd said in a statement without giving further details. The QSL is scheduled to resume on January 4 – Al Sadd are currently 9th in the standings.
The player who just represented Qatar at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 signed a contract extension until 2024 two years ago, making the news of his termination without a ‘befitting’ goodbye a surprise.
Kimo won the continental title of the best player in 2018 and is one of the leading stars in a "golden generation" of Qatari footballers, whose legacy have been cemented by the Asian Cup victory in 2019, as well as being the first Qatari players to play in the World Cup.
For Al Sadd, his trophy cabinet is impressive, with 16 trophies won at the club where he started his career as a young lad, including the AFC Champions League title, four Qatar league titles, five Amir Cups and many others.
Kimo’s only other foray outside The Wolves was a short stint at Belgian Jupiler League side KAS Eupen in the 2017-18 season – he played just 10 matches for the European side. He has, however, never hidden his desire to play in Europe; that offer is still yet to come.
“One of my goals is to play in Europe. I not only want to test myself in the best leagues in the world, but I want to represent Qatar on that stage too, to show the world that we are just as good and can compete,” he told Esquire Middle East in an interview.
