Al-Hilal may be on the verge of a decision that raises plenty of question marks, should they choose to part ways with one of their most prominent and consistent performers of recent years. Attention has turned to the future of Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, and recent developments pose an important question. Is the Saudi club edging closer to giving up a technical asset still coveted by Europe's elite?
AFPJuventus's interest reassesses the entire picture
The website of the Al Jazeera channel said: "Press reports have revealed Juventus's interest in signing the Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou at a time when speculation is increasing about his future with Al-Hilal, which is considering registering him only in continental competitions after regaining Mohammed Al-Owais."
According to the channel's account on X, the Italian club want to sign Bounou for around 9 million euros.
The Moroccan goalkeeper, meanwhile, rejects Al-Hilal's plan to register him for continental competitions only. That stance makes a summer departure a real possibility, even though his contract runs until the summer of 2028.
Nine million euros hardly counts as exceptional in the transfer market. Attach it to the name of a goalkeeper who has reached the age of thirty-five, though, and the number reads very differently. This is not only about the value of a deal. It is about how a club of Juventus's size views a player who, by market logic, should be in the final stage of his career.
Read also: The Saudi adventure did not satisfy his ambition: Al-Hilal star offers himself to a European giant
A counter-offer: a gap too big to ignore
Yassine Bounou's market value on "Transfermarkt" has slid steadily since he joined Al-Hilal in the summer of 2023. It dropped from 12 million euros at the time of his signing to 9 million by mid-2024, then to 7 million by the end of that year, before falling further to 6.5 million and then 5.5 million euros in mid-2025.
None of that is surprising in a market that leans on age and resale potential rather than current form. But an offer worth 9 million euros, if the reports hold up, means Juventus are ready to pay around 65% more than the Moroccan goalkeeper's latest valuation. That is a gap too big to ignore.
The market value does not always equal the technical value
Goalkeeping doesn't always obey the usual laws of the transfer market. A keeper doesn't shed his technical value as quickly as a midfielder or a striker, because experience, positioning and reading the game only grow more valuable with the years. That's why Gianluigi Buffon, Manuel Neuer and Iker Casillas carried on competing at the very top well past thirty-three, even as their market values steadily slipped.
Any offer for Bono, then, says less about his resale value than about the buying club's faith in him. They trust he's ready right now, ready to make an impact from day one.
A value not measured in numbers or age
If Juventus really are ready to pay this figure, then perhaps they aren't buying a long-term future but a ready-made "technical guarantee". Bono brings more than his experience in the Saudi league. He carries a striking World Cup presence on his record, successful European spells with Sevilla in particular, titles at every level, and an impressive tally in big matches. Numbers from rating and statistics websites sometimes struggle to measure a player of this calibre.
Read also: The wound of the weakest link in Morocco's project: Lekjaa sounds the alarm
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