Video: Tarek Dhiab: Jaissle is the reason for Al-Ahli Saudi's downfall

Tunisian star Tarek Dhiab, the former Al-Ahli Saudi player, has made striking comments about the reason behind Al-Ahli's drop in form during this season's competitions.

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Jaissle decided to leave Al-Ahli a few weeks ago and took over at Newcastle United. Both parties had hit a dead end over his new contract, which pushed him to hand the Asian champions around 12 million euros to secure his exit.

Dhiab told Saudi network "Thmanyah": "I believe that the departure of Matthias Jaissle caused severe harm to Al-Ahli club, and it is one of the most important reasons that contributed to the turn in Al-Ahli's season."

He added: "Your coach leaves a few weeks before the season and several names and key elements depart from your team, these are extremely difficult matters, but I see that Jaissle's departure specifically wronged Al-Ahli club."

The damage was laid bare on Friday. Al-Ahli crashed to a 6-1 defeat against Al-Shabab in round 12 of the Saudi Roshn Pro League.