Ferjani Sassi, currently playing for Qatari club Al-Gharafa, has won a final ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) obligating Zamalek to pay his outstanding financial dues dating back to 2022. FIFA has subsequently imposed a three-transfer-window ban on the Egyptian club until these payments are settled.
Zamalek now owes $160,000 to its former coach, José Gomes, and his assistants in three separate cases, and approximately $900,000 to Ferjani Sassi. The club must settle these debts before the upcoming winter transfer window to make new signings and salvage the season.
However, the shocking news for Zamalek is that the club is facing eight new cases of outstanding payments, requiring a massive sum to settle them and avoid the specter of bankruptcy or relegation.
Initially, Zamalek owes $1 million to Swedish club AIK, the transfer fee for Omar Farag’s move to the White Knights in the summer of 2024. To date, Hussein Labib’s administration has not paid any of this amount, and AIK is expected to take the matter to FIFA in what is considered a guaranteed case.
Even Omar Farag has not received his outstanding financial dues and was completely excluded from the first team after returning from his loan spell. He is also expected to appeal to FIFA and obtain a ruling guaranteeing the payment of his dues, along with interest for the delay.
Zamalek also owes money to Ibrahima Ndiaye, reportedly exceeding $1 million, as well as to Samson Akinola, and to Polish player Konrad Michalak, who joined on loan from Abha and left after only six months without receiving most of his salary.
In addition to the outstanding issues from previous years, there are other matters related to last summer. Zamalek has not yet paid the transfer fee for Juan Bezerra from Oleksandriya of Ukraine ($1.8 million), nor the fee for Chico Panza from Estorilha of Portugal ($800,000), as well as another $500,000 for the transfer of Moroccan player Abdelhamid Maali from Ittihad Tanger.
In general, Zamalek will have to secure a sum that could reach $6 million (approximately 300 million Egyptian pounds) if it wants to resolve all these outstanding issues. This is an amount the club simply cannot afford at present, placing the White Knights in a genuine crisis that threatens their very existence, not just their current and upcoming seasons.
