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Al Hilal goalkeeper Yassine Bounou was once Real Madrid’s main target, unfortunately he failed to join the club nicknamed Los Blancos due to the Africa Cup of Nations. / Photo: Instagram @bounouyassine_bono
RIYADH – Al Hilal goalkeeper Yassine Bounou was once Real Madrid’s main target. Unfortunately, he failed to join the club nicknamed Los Blancos due to the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations.
Al Hilal itself spent 21 million euros to get Yassine Bounou from Sevilla. The 32-year-old goalkeeper is contracted with Al Hilal until June 2026.
Before joining Al Hilal, Yassine Bounou almost joined Real Madrid. At that time, El Real needed a replacement for Thibaut Courtois who was injured. Bounou also admitted that he received an offer from Real Madrid.
“Yes, I received an offer from Real Madrid, I was the priority. The Africa Cup of Nations complicated everything, so the deal failed,” said Yassine Bounou as quoted from a post on Fabrizio Romano’s Twitter account, Wednesday (6/9/2023).
After failing to get Yassine Bounou, Real Madrid chose to bring in Kepa Arrizabalaga. The Spanish goalkeeper only borrowed one season from Chelsea.
On the other hand, Yassine Bounou has appeared in three matches with Al Hilal. Currently, the team nicknamed Al-Zaeem is leading the 2023/2024 Saudi Arabian League standings with 13 points.
Meanwhile, the African Cup of Nations will take place from 13 January to 11 February 2024 in Ivory Coast. This caused the club to experience losses because their players had to leave to defend their respective countries.
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