A sudden twist: Barcelona spoil Anis Hadj Moussa's move to Al-Ittihad

The Algerian star will not join the Saudi club

Barcelona have scuppered the move of Algeria's Anis Hadj Moussa, the Feyenoord winger, to Al-Ittihad during the current summer transfer window.

Press reports had confirmed that Al-Ittihad had reached an agreement with Feyenoord to sign Anis Hadj Moussa in the ongoing summer transfer window, after submitting a financial offer worth 30 million euros.

Dutch newspaper "De Telegraaf" confirmed, however, that Feyenoord refused to complete the deal, wary of the attacking shortage they could suffer if they lost their Algerian star.

The Dutch club had already parted ways with Japanese forward Ayase Ueda last week, sending him to French side Lille. That makes losing Anis Hadj Moussa on top of him a far more complicated matter.

Yesterday, Wednesday evening, the summer transfer window in the Netherlands closed. Feyenoord cannot now sign a replacement to cover Moussa's departure.

Only free agents remain an option for the Dutch club, and even then they could not register them for the UEFA Champions League after the registration period closed yesterday.

Feyenoord believe Moussa's exit would dent their chances in the UEFA Champions League, particularly with a trip to Barcelona to open the competition next Wednesday at the Spotify Camp Nou.

Al-Ittihad, then, must hunt for an alternative to make up for their failure to land the Algerian winger, especially after French winger Moussa Diaby left for Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday.

Hadj Moussa has dazzled at Feyenoord since arriving in the summer of 2024. He has featured in 86 matches, scoring 26 goals and providing 13 assists.