CAIRO: Former Egypt defender Ibrahim Saied has backtracked on his decision to hang up his boots, and expressed his desire to join a high-profile Egyptian club.
Controversial footballer Saied, who played for Ahly and Zamalek before, terminated his contract with Ismaili last season, and received no tangible bids this summer.
The 29-year-old announced over a week ago that he would retire by the end of August if he got no offers from abroad, but he had a change of heart after his mother talked him out of retiring.
My mother was crying her eyes out because she didn t want me to retire, he told Dream TV. She asked me to change my mind and convinced me that I should re-ignite my career.
Now I feel like I m 16 or 17. I want to get back in Egypt fold, especially after (head coach) Hassan Shehata vowed to call me up should I play regularly.
I ll only move to a prestigious team, and may God help me revive my glorious days.
I was treated unfairly during the past years, but now I m determined to get back in the public eye.
During the lengthy interview, Saied ruled out the possibility of re-joining Ahly, saying he was once deceived by the Cairo club s officials.
Ahly s officials deceived me. They promised to bring me in, and eventually let me down, the free agent explained.
When I was in Turkey, (current coach) Hossam Al-Badri, (board member) Mahmoud Al-Khatib and (football committee member) Tarek Selim contacted me.
They have all called on me to re-join Ahly, but then left me high and dry just to prove that principles matter to their club.
The former Rizespor man pointed out that he had a “great relationship with Manuel Jose, who had two separate tenures at Ahly.
Jose liked me a lot, he even picked me in the dream team he named during his interview with Emirati publication Super, he said.
Ahly and Egypt fans don t hate me either, I can tell from the way they treat me when I meet any of them.
But I feel Ahly s officials are still bearing a grudge against me for joining Zamalek years ago, and they won t let bygones be bygones.
Saied started his career at Ahly in 2000 and earned plaudits for a string of impressive displays, but his tendency to make troubles blighted his spell.
After causing all kinds of troubles for the six-time African champions, Saied joined their arch-rivals Zamalek to further infuriate Ahly s officials and fans.
When asked about his chances of getting back to Zamalek, Saied said: I was in negotiations with board member Ibrahim Youssef and former Zamalek star Gamal Abdel-Hamid, but no agreement was reached.
They believe my return to Zamalek wouldn t go down well. From their perspective, the club s supporters wouldn t welcome me back.
On the other hand, Saied assured that the idea of joining Petrojet has never crossed his mind.
I spent some time at Petrojet to improve my fitness, but that doesn t necessarily mean I want to move to the club, he elaborated.
(Petrojet boss) Mokhtar Mokhtar said he has no intention of landing me. With all due respect, I only play for big teams.
