El Tayeb: I was above all of Al-Hilal's stars, and Imam Ashour deserves recognition

Explosive statements from the legend

Libyan legend Tarek Taib, the former Al-Hilal star, has made striking comments about his time in the Saudi Pro League, explaining that "the Boss" is no less valuable than the world's elite clubs.

Taib told the "On Sport" channels network: "The environment at Al-Hilal is different from any other club. It is a huge entity and a professional system to the highest degree. This club treated me on the human level first and foremost."

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He added: "I felt my worth greatly with Al-Hilal, I gave everything I had, and I was extremely happy. I played with a lot of stars such as Yasser Al-Qahtani, Nawaf Al-Temyat, Mohamed Al-Deayea and others."

"Despite the presence of names of this magnitude, I was earning the highest salary, because this is football," he continued. "There are players in the star category and others who are classified as very good elements. What I mean to say is that the wages process has its own system, related to performance on the pitch and marketing value."

That top salary caused no crisis inside the dressing room, Taib stressed. Everyone handled the matter with great professionalism.

Talk of dressing room tensions led the former Libya international to turn to Al-Ahly of Egypt and Imam Ashour. "The Red Giant has its own policy, which is a salary cap," he said.

"But at the same time, the player must be appreciated and given the highest salary in the team, because he is the number one star and was the standout element with the Egypt national team at the World Cup," he explained.

He concluded: "The bottom line is that I agree with the idea of a salary cap, but the stars must be appreciated differently."