Egyptian striker Mostafa Mohamed (28) has finally joined training with his French club Nantes in preparation for the new season.
The international, left out of the Egypt squad for the 2026 World Cup by Pharaohs coach Hossam Hassan, had been expected to report for training on 24 June.
But the former Zamalek player returned late, and Nantes were left baffled as to his whereabouts.
According to "Ouest-France", Mostafa Mohamed came back to the Nantes training centre earlier this week and took part in an individual session on Wednesday, away from the first team. The squad are currently in La Baule for a week-long training camp.
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The report revealed the club's initial decision: "The Egyptian Pharaoh will then train with the reserve team until further notice".
Nantes, it added, had sent the player a daily message since 24 June, warning him he would not receive his salary until he showed up at the training ground.
Coach Michel Der Zakarian was furious when asked about the matter, saying he had never seen such behaviour from a player before.
The former Montpellier boss said: "The player does not want to come to training, that is his problem, not ours. If he does not want to train, then let him stay at home".
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Mostafa Mohamed has made no secret of his desire to leave Nantes this summer, especially after his salary was cut following the club's relegation to the French second division.
The report concluded: "For its part, the French club, an eight-time league title winner, is not counting much on Mostafa Mohamed to lead the promotion process to Ligue 1, but it does not intend to give up for free a player it signed for 6.5 million euros from Galatasaray in 2023. Nevertheless, offers are not plentiful for the Egyptian striker, who has only one year left on his contract".