'Mosimane only spoke to me once all season' - ex-Ahly midfielder explains acrimonious exit

Future FC midfielder Nasser Maher has revealed he left Al Ahly after a rather acrimonious fallout with Pitso Mosimane, and shed light on the circumstances that surrounded his exit from the Egyptian heavyweights.

Although a shoulder injury limited his chances to play regularly for the African giants after his return from a loan spell with Smouha SC, the 25-year-old has complained about how the South African tactician was treating him at the time.

"I complained to Sayed Abdelhafiz [the sporting director] two weeks after returning from injury, because of the way the coach was treating me. I spoke with [Pitso] Mosimane only once last season," Maher told On Time Sports.

The midfielder specifically pointed out that his fallout with Mosimane was exacerbated when he did not play against Simba SC in a Caf Champions League match last year.

"Last season we had already qualified for the quarter-finals of the Champions League and the Simba game was insignificant," added Maher. "At the time, I had not played for four months. A day before the match, Abdelhafiz told me to prepare for the possibility of participating in the match.

"At the end of the training, I learned of my grandmother’s death, but I preferred to stay in the camp and not travel back. I prepared myself for the match, and before the starting eleven was announced, I knew that I was out of the squad."

Once again, the Egyptian star revealed that the sporting director cooled him down: "I was shocked and upset and decided to leave. Mosimane told me ‘if you leave, don’t come to the club again and I told him 'OK'," he explained.

"Abdelhafiz sat with me until the start of the match and told me that he understood what I was going through and that I have the right to be angry, and asked me to express my anger.

"I was not punished and trained with the team the next day.

"I asked Abdelhafiz to speak with Mosimane before the African Super Cup against RS Berkane [of Morocco], he asked me to postpone the matter until after the match."

The star, who was promoted to the first team at the start of the 2018/19 season, accused Mosimane of not honouring his pledge even after asking him to remain patient.

"I spoke with Mosimane and asked him if I could play so that I would not miss the opportunity to play in the Olympics, and he replied by saying that I’m training well and asked me to be patient," he continued. "After that, I wasn’t included in the team’s squad."

Maher finally sent a message to his former coach: "I want to tell Mosimane that now I have made nine-goal contributions to my team and played a big role in most of their wins," he concluded.

"I’m the only one who has scored a hat-trick in the league so far, while no player from your team did so."

Maher has scored four goals in 12 appearances for the newly promoted side.