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Bani Yas sign Aboutrika on loan until end of season

 

Bani Yas have officially signed Egyptian international Mohammed Abutraika on loan from the Egyptian Premier League’s Al Ahli Club until the end of this season. The six-month loan is one of the strongest deals to bring a foreign player to the UAE Pro League completed this January transfer window.

The new Bani Yas player was unveiled this afternoon at a press conference held at the Eastern Mangroves Hotel in Abu Dhabi, attended by Major General Ahmed Nasser Al Raisi, Chairman of Bani Yas, along with a number of Bani Yas’ Board of Directors and media representatives. The contract was signed by Mubarak Bin Mihairom, Vice Chairman of Bani Yas, on behalf of the Club’s management.

Aboutrika joins Bani Yas as a replacement for his compatriot Mohamed Zidan, who is no longer included in the squad, though his contract does not expire until the end of next season.

 Aboutrika will depart tomorrow to join up  the Egyptian National Team, as they line up to face Chile in a friendly match in Spain on Wednesday, February 6 in preparation for the Egypt’s World Cup 2014 qualifying play-off fixture against Zimbabwe in March. However, the player will immediately return to Bani Yas on Thursday, February 7 in order to prepare with the squad ahead of their quarter-final match against Al Ain in the President’s Cup.

Aboutrika will wear the Cyans’ number 72 shirt, chosen by the player himself to commemorate the martyrs of the Port Saeed massacre, in which 72 people lost their lives. The new loan signing took part in a training session with his Bani Yas team-mates for the first time this evening, and was warmly received by his fellow players and coaches.