A fourth country at 33
Croatia, Italy, Saudi Arabia. Add Qatar to the list. Marcelo Brozovic has signed for Al-Sadd until 2027 after letting his Al-Nassr contract run out, and the Doha club confirmed it this morning.
Five years ago he was the metronome of an Inter Milan side that went toe to toe with anyone in Europe. The path from there to the Qatar Stars League is not one many people would have sketched out for him.
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He did not go to Riyadh just to collect a cheque
Brozovic landed at Al-Nassr in 2023 and won things. The Saudi Pro League title. The Arab Club Champions Cup. All of it next to Cristiano Ronaldo, in a competition where plenty of imported European names have padded a bank balance and little else.
Because the deal simply expired, Al-Nassr collect nothing. Al-Sadd pick up a free agent with a trophy cabinet.
Firmino is already there
The dressing room will not feel foreign. Roberto Firmino arrived at Al-Sadd last summer from Al-Ahli, which puts two players who spent their best years at the top of the European game in the same squad.
Al-Sadd are still the most decorated club in Qatar, and signing a midfielder of this profile says something about what they want domestically and in Asia this season.
How many matches his legs will stand up to across a full campaign is the part nobody can answer yet. At 33, it rarely is.
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