DUBAI // Khamis Esmail says clinching a first UAE league title justifies his decision to join Al Ahli in January.
The UAE international midfielder made a big-money move from Abu Dhabi’s Al Jazira in the winter transfer window, in a deal reportedly worth Dh60 million.
Esmail, 26, has settled in well at Ahli and become an integral component in the club’s march to the Arabian Gulf League crown, which was confirmed last Thursday with two matches to spare.
Since arriving at the Rashid Stadium, he has often formed a solid base alongside Majed Hassan in the Ahli midfield, helping the club go unbeaten in the league as they secured a seventh top-flight trophy and a second in three seasons.
Esmail, who was part of Jazira’s championship-winning side in 2011, said capturing another league crown is exactly the reason he came to Dubai.
“For sure, Al Ahli is a big club, with a big mentality, a big everything,” he said. “This one of the most successful clubs in the UAE and that’s why I’m now with Al Ahli.
“It’s a really good feeling. I’ve been with the club for four or five months, thankfully I’ve become champion for the first time with Al Ahli and hopefully we’ll do more to be champions again and again in the future.”
Ahli’s immediate future takes in next Sunday’s final league match against Al Shaab, where they will be presented with the trophy, before the two sides meet five days later in the quarter-finals of the President’s Cup.
Esmail insists his teammates will look to use their title-winning momentum to finish the season with a league and cup double.
“Of course,” he said. “Now we are champions in the league, this will give us more confidence to be champions also in the President’s Cup.”
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