Demarai Gray has bid farewell to Everton and joined forces with Saudi Club Al-Etifaq. The Jamaican winger was already facing some issues at Everton, and he has finally decided to cut ties with them and move on. The 27-year-old will now be seen in action in the Middle East along with Karim Benzema who joined the club earlier this season.
Every day more and more players join the Saudi Pro League due to its lucrative offers. While some are more than happy to make a move, there are others who are having tense relationships with them. Al-Ettifaq has taken a sly dig at Mohamed Salah and Liverpool while announcing Demarai Gray.
Al-Ettifaq sign Demarai Gray
It is no surprise that Demarai Gray has left Everton as he was not on good terms with coach Sean Dyche. He moved to Everton from Bayer Leverkusen in 2021. Since then, he has appeared in 77 games, scoring 12 goals. The Jamaican has now signed for Al-Ettifaq on a four-year deal though the details of the contract have not been disclosed yet reports suggest it is worth around £8 million.
In a recent Instagram post Gray expressed his gratitude towards the fans while disclosing the reason behind him leaving the club. “The truth is, I gave my all to this club on and off the pitch through good and bad. I was ready to play as much football as possible this season but it felt like this was not going to happen. It’s time for my next chapter.” said Gray.
On the other hand coach Sean Dyche says that Gray “didn’t want to train” and “didn’t want to be here”. There is no way of knowing who’s right and who’s wrong and it does not matter anymore as the deal is now done.
Al-Ettifaq lands a subtle jab at Liverpool and Mohamed Salah
Talking about not being on good terms the relationship between Liverpool and Al-Ettifaq has also strained since Al-Ettifaq took shots at Mo Salah and Jurgen Klopp. Al-Ettifaq posted a video on their social media account titled ‘Ettifaq transfers’. The video has an old-school retro game theme it features various Premier League teams like Manchester City, Manchester United etc.
𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑 🎮🟢#Ettifaq | @22Demarai | #GrayXEttifaq pic.twitter.com/C9ymLvD08B
— Ettifaq Club (@Ettifaq_EN) September 7, 2023
In its starting, you can see the player opting for Liverpool and selecting Salah but as soon as he clicks on him an image of Jurgen Klopp pops up screaming “NO!”. The edit then moves forward featuring Phillippe Coutinho and finally welcoming Demarai Gray to Saudi Arabia. Al-Ettifaq recently signed Jordan Henderson from Liverpool and also wanted Mo Salah but Klopp has no interest in selling his star player.
