Abdallah El-Said is considering retirement after asking Zamalek to terminate his contract due to poor treatment from the board.
The midfielder’s agent Abdelhadi Mohamed confirmed that the 41-year-old wants to leave the Cairo giants despite having another season remaining on his contract.
Mohamed said El-Said feels Zamalek have failed to appreciate his contribution and have presented a misleading account of the dispute to supporters.
The agent added that the midfielder could end his playing career rather than join another club. “Abdallah El-Said is currently seriously considering ending his football career through Zamalek,” Mohamed said in a statement.
A subsequent report claimed to reveal details of El-Said’s meeting with a senior Zamalek official. The club reportedly told the player that they wanted him to remain and would resolve his outstanding payments before the new season.
However, El-Said insisted that money was not the primary reason behind his request. He said he had rejected more lucrative offers before joining Zamalek because he wanted to finish his career with the White Knights.
The midfielder instead alleged a “coordinated campaign from within the club” to attack him and influence supporters against him.
“I have never been humiliated like this. My children are grown,” El-Said reportedly told the official.
Zamalek then informed him that he would need to waive last season’s outstanding payments before the club agreed to release him, which El-Said rejected.
His unpaid dues are approximately EGP8 million, according to reports. He has not joined Zamalek’s pre-season camp, and the board is divided over how to proceed while the dispute remains unresolved.
Some members reportedly support allowing El-Said to waive his salary for the coming season in exchange for terminating the contract and scheduling last season’s arrears.
However, others want the player to return to training and face disciplinary action for missing pre-season, particularly while Zamalek remain unable to register new signings.
El-Said’s departure was initially understood to have been agreed after his agent said the board had welcomed the termination request and the proposed payment schedule.
However, a Zamalek source subsequently denied that the two parties had reached a final agreement, saying that the board was still considering every available option before deciding the player’s future.
Last summer, Abdallah El-Said signed a two-year extension, keeping him at Zamalek until June 2027. He had joined from Pyramids in January 2024 in a deal reportedly valued at an initial EGP21 million.
El-Said has since made 93 appearances across all competitions, scoring 16 goals and providing 10 assists. His spell included the 2024 CAF Super Cup, the 2025 Egypt Cup and Zamalek’s 2025/26 Egyptian Premier League title.