Riyad Mahrez just showed his Al Ahli teammates what real loyalty looks like. The Algerian winger gifted custom-engraved Rolex watches worth approximately £17,000 each to celebrate their back-to-back AFC Champions League titles. Each watch came personalized with the player's name and the trophy engraved on it.
This is the kind of move that separates the average rich athlete from the truly generous ones. Mahrez could have just posted a vague Instagram caption about how proud he is. Instead, he pulled up with actual luxury watches for the whole squad. That's the energy.
Al Ahli have been on a serious run lately. Winning two AFC Champions League titles in a row puts them in elite company in Asian football. The competition is no joke either. You're competing against massive clubs from across the continent. So when you win it back-to-back, that's something worth celebrating properly.
Mahrez knows what it's like to win big. His time at Manchester City taught him how to operate at the highest level. Now he's bringing that championship mentality to Saudi Arabia, and clearly, he's brought his championship wallet too. His teammates are probably still pinching themselves over these gifts.
The custom engraving is what makes this even more thoughtful. This isn't just Mahrez throwing money around randomly. He made sure each player got a watch that was uniquely theirs, a real keepsake from the moment they made history together. That's the kind of thing players remember for life.
Al Ahli's dominance in the AFC Champions League is starting to look serious. If they can keep this squad together and Mahrez stays healthy, there's no reason they can't push for more trophies. The question now is whether the rest of Asian football can catch up to what they're building.
