Leeds United cult hero left in strange limbo after Elland Road exit soured by big-money project
A Leeds United cult hero continues to play more international football than club football after his move away from Elland Road was soured by relegation and red tape.
Gjanni Alioski played all 90 minutes of North Macedonia's 1-1 draw with a Wales side that featured current Whites men Daniel James, Joe Rodon and Karl Darlow, on Tuesday night. For Alioski, who spent four years as a Leeds player but departed a month before James made his entrance, it was his 82nd international cap for the Macedonian side and a 32nd start from the 37 fixtures they've played since his Leeds exit. A main man for his country for several years, even a lack of club football has failed to threaten the 33-year-old's place in the team.
That paucity of minutes for his club comes down to two factors - the big-money Saudi Pro League project and the footballing regulations that it operates within.
When Alioski waved an emotional goodbye to Elland Road in the summer of 2021 he did so having helped the club not only regain Premier League status but retain it. He started 29 games for Marcelo Bielsa in that single top flight season before his contract ran out and the two parties failed to come to terms on a renewal. Despite rumours of Turkish interest, Alioski instead moved to Saudi Arabia to join Al-Ahli and quickly established himself as a fan favourite, starting 28 of 30 Pro League fixtures, scoring six goals and adding nine assists. His output was not enough to save the club from relegation, however, and upon their drop into the Saudi First Division League he departed for a season-long loan at Fenerbache.
Though he ended that year with a second-place finish in the Süper Lig and a Turkish Cup winners medal, Alioski's loan was not made permanent and he returned to his parent club. But his return coincided with a record-breaking transfer window as close to $1billion was spent on an influx of foreign talent, many of whom were household names in English football.
Saudi's Public Investment Fund took 75 per cent stakes in four of the Pro League members, including Al-Ahli, and attracted global superstars like Christiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and N'Golo Kanté. At Al-Ahli, Roberto Firmino, Allan Saint-Maximin, Édouard Mendy and Riyad Mahrez were among the new faces at Alioski's club and despite starting the first four league games of the new season he soon fell victim to the signing spree and league rules that limit the number of foreigners in a squad to 10, two of whom must be under the age of 21.
Alisoki was duly deregistered and played no further part in the season as Al-Ahli finished third in the division, simply continuing to train with his club and play senior competitive football for his country.
This season the versatile left-back has continued to sit out league games and although there was talk of a possible termination of his contract, which runs to the summer, he was registered for the AFC Champions League Elite and made a trio of substitute appearances in the most recent fixtures. Al-Ahli have made the quarter-finals of the tournament, which has different foreigner registration rules to the Saudi Pro League, and face Thai outfit Buriram United in April.
In January the signing of Brazilian winger Galeno and the addition of England international Ivan Toney led to Firmino joining Alioski on the de-registered list. Addressing the ex-Liverpool man's situation boss Matthias Jaissle said: "It was a difficult decision for the club and based on the rules. We appreciate him and he dealt with it professionally. He's still one of our leaders."