2021–22 Al Ain FC season
# 2021–22 Al Ain FC season

The 2021–22 season was Al Ain Football Club's 54th in existence and the club's 47th consecutive season in the top-level football league in the UAE.

## Club

### Technical staff

| Position | Name |
| - | - |
| Head coach | Serhii Rebrov |
| Assistant coach | Vicente Gómez Ahmed Abdullah |
| Assistant coach and analyst | Alberto Bosch |
| Fitness coach | Jesus Pinedo Alessandro Sarrocco |
| Goalkeeping coach | Radu Lefter Dan Zdrinca |
| Physiotherapist | Felipe Perseu |
| U-21 team head coach | Ghazi Fahad |
| First and U21 team supervisor | Abdullah Al Shamsi |

Last updated: 18 July 2021 Source:

### Board of directors

| Office | Name |
| - | - |
| President | Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan |
| Vice President | Hazza Bin Zayed Al Nahyan |
| Chairman of Board of Directors | Matar Al Darmaki |
| Vice Chairman of Board of Directors | Khaled Al Dhaheri |
| Board of Directors Member | Matar Al Dhaheri |
| Board of Directors Member | Salem Al Jneibi |
| Board of Directors Member | Majid Al Owais |

Last updated: 22 June 2019 Source: Al Ain Club

## Players

### First Team

| No | Position | Player | Age | Since | Ends | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | GK | Mohammed Abo Sandah | 28 | 2014 | 2024 | |
| 3 | DF | Salem Abdullah | 24 | 2018 | 2024 | |
| 4 | DF | Mohammed Shaker | 26 | 2019 | 2024 |
| 5 | DF | Danilo Arboleda | 28 | 2022 | 2023 | |
| 6 | MF | Yahia Nader | 24 | 2018 | 2021 | Second nationality: Egypt |
| 7 | FW | Caio Canedo | 32 | 2019 | 2024 | Second nationality: Brazil |
| 8 | FW | Ali Eid | 25 | 2017 | | |
| 9 | FW | Kodjo Laba | 31 | 2019 | 2024 | |
| 10 | MF | Cristian Guanca | 30 | 2021 | 2022 | |
| 11 | MF | Bandar Al-Ahbabi (captain) | 33 | 2016 | 2024 | |
| 12 | GK | Sultan Al-Mantheri | 28 | 2021 | 2024 | |
| 13 | MF | Ahmed Barman | 29 | 2013 | 2024 | |
| 14 | MF | Rayan Yaslam | 28 | 2014 | 2024 | |
| 15 | DF | Erik Jorgens | 22 | 2020 | | |
| 17 | GK | Khalid Eisa (3rd captain) | 33 | 2013 | 2024 | |
| 18 | MF | Khalid Al-Balochi | 24 | 2018 | | |
| 20 | DF | Yassine Meriah | 27 | 2021 | 2023 | |
| 21 | FW | Soufiane Rahimi | 28 | 2021 | 2026 | |
| 22 | DF | Saeed Ahmed | 29 | 2021 | 2024 | |
| 23 | DF | Mohamed Ahmed (vice-captain) | 34 | 2012 | 2024 | |
| 27 | MF | Sultan Al-Shamsi | 27 | 2021 | 2024 | |
| 29 | DF | Omar Saeed | 24 | 2022 | 2024 |
| 30 | MF | Mohammed Khalfan | 24 | 2016 | 2024 | |
| 31 | GK | Suhail Al-Shamsi | 24 | 2021 | | |
| 33 | DF | Kouame Autonne | 22 | 2021 | 2024 | |
| 34 | DF | Rafael Pereira | 23 | 2020 | 2022 | |
| 44 | DF | Saeed Juma | 25 | 2017 | 2024 | |

### Unregistered players

| No | Position | Player | Nation |
| - | - | - | - |
| 20 | DF | Yassine Meriah $^{(Injured)}$ | Tunisia |
| — | MF | Bauyrzhan Islamkhan $^{(Dopingban)}$ | Kazakhstan |

### From Reserve U21 and Youth Academy

| No | Position | Player | Nation |
| - | - | - | - |
| 2 | DF | Saoud Al-Mahri | United Arab Emirates |
| 24 | MF | Andrija Radovanovic | Serbia |
| 25 | MF | Ali Al-Balochi | United Arab Emirates |
| 35 | MF | Khalid Alaa | United Arab Emirates |
| 39 | FW | Hamad Al Kalbani | United Arab Emirates |
| 40 | DF | Khaled Al Balouchi | United Arab Emirates |
| 42 | MF | Jonathan Santos | Brazil |
| 50 | DF | Manea Al Shamsi | United Arab Emirates |
| 57 | DF | Khalifa Al Hosani | United Arab Emirates |
| 59 | MF | Khaled Waleed | United Arab Emirates |
| 61 | GK | Zayed Khaled | United Arab Emirates |
| 66 | DF | Mansour Saeed | United Arab Emirates |
| 70 | MF | Mohammed Abbas | United Arab Emirates |
| 72 | FW | Mohamed Awadalla | Sudan |
| 74 | DF | Adham Khalid | Egypt |
| 75 | MF | Zayed Alharthi | United Arab Emirates |
| 78 | MF | Hamid Yahya | Oman |
| 88 | MF | Naser Al-Shikali | United Arab Emirates |
| 89 | MF | Ahmed Al Qatesh | United Arab Emirates |

### New contracts

| Date | Pos | No. | Player | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 3 July 2021 | FW | 9 | Kodjo Laba | 2024 |
| 8 July 2021 | MF | 30 | Mohammed Khalfan | 2024 |
| 8 July 2021 | DF | 44 | Saeed Juma | 2024 |
| 21 September 2021 | MF | 70 | Mohammed Abbas | 2025 |
| 21 January 2022 | MF | 42 | Jonathan Santos | 2025 |

### Injury record

| N | P | Name | Type | Source | Match | Inj. Date | Ret. Date |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 38 | DF | Saeed Al-Menhali | cruciate ligament | AlAinClub.ae | Pre-Season | Unknown | 13 December 2021 |
| 27 | MF | Sultan Al-Shamsi | muscles rupture | AlAinClub.ae | in training (Pre-Season) | 20 July 2021 | 7 August 2021 |
| 70 | MF | Mohammed Abbas | back muscle | Sharjah24.ae, AlAinClub.ae | in training with UAE | 13 November 2021 | 31 January 2022 |
| 27 | MF | Sultan Al-Shamsi | leg muscle | AlAinClub.ae | vs Al-Ittihad (Friendly) | 6 December 2021 | 20 January 2022 |
| 20 | DF | Yassine Meriah | tear in the right anterior cruciate ligament | AlAinClub.ae | vs Egypt with Tunisia | 15 December 2021 | 15 June 2022 |
| 7 | FW | Caio Canedo | moderate bruise | AlAinClub.ae | vs Al Wasl | 17 December 2021 | 1 January 2022 |
| 11 | MF | Bandar Al-Ahbabi | mild back pain | AlAinClub.ae | vs Al Wasl | 17 December 2021 | 27 December 2021 |
| 33 | DF | Kouame Autonne | back muscle tear | AlAinClub.ae | vs Al Wasl | 17 December 2021 | 21 January 2022 |
| 9 | FW | Kodjo Laba | leg muscle | AlAinClub.ae | vs Al Nasr | 21 December 2021 | 31 January 2022 |
| 18 | MF | Khalid Al-Balochi | muscle injury | AlAinClub.ae | in training | 9 January 2022 | Unknown |
| 6 | MF | Yahia Nader | | UAEFA.ae | in training with UAE | 18 January 2022 | 3 February 2022 |
| 42 | MF | Jonathan Santos | | AlAinClub.ae | in training | 26 January 2022 | Unknown |
| 7 | FW | Caio Canedo | bruise in his ankle | AlAinClub.ae | in training with UAE | 1 February 2022 | Unknown |

- Player is injured

- Player has recovered from injury Last updated: 5 April 2022 Source: AlAinClub.ae

## Transfers

### In

| Date | Position | No. | Name | From | Type | Transfer window | Fee | Team |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 June 2021 | MF | — | Hazem Muhanaeh | Al-Taawon | Loan return | Summer | | Reserve U21 |
| 1 June 2021 | DF | — | Waleed Siraj | Khor Fakkan | Loan return | Summer | | First team |
| 1 June 2021 | MF | — | Idriss Mzaouiyani | Al Dhafra | Loan return | Summer | | First team |
| 1 June 2021 | FW | 8 | Ali Eid | Al-Fujairah | Loan return | Summer | | First team |
| 1 June 2021 | MF | — | Falah Waleed | Khor Fakkan | Loan return | Summer | | First team |
| 1 June 2021 | MF | — | Mohammed Jamal | Al Jazira | Loan return | Summer | | First team |
| 1 June 2021 | MF | 27 | Sultan Al-Shamsi | Baniyas | Transfer | Summer | Free | First team |
| 7 July 2021 | DF | 33 | Kouame Autonne | Khor Fakkan | Transfer | Summer | Undisclosed | First team |
| 14 July 2021 | GK | 12 | Sultan Al-Mantheri | Al Wasl | Transfer | Summer | Free | First team |
| 28 July 2021 | DF | 20 | Yassine Meriah | Olympiacos | Transfer | Summer | €1,500,000 | First team |
| 6 August 2021 | DF | 74 | Adham Khalid | Al Jazira | Transfer | Summer | Undisclosed | Reserve U21 |
| 8 August 2021 | FW | 21 | Soufiane Rahimi | Raja Casablanca | Transfer | Summer | €2,550,000 | First team |
| 14 August 2021 | DF | 22 | Saeed Ahmed | Shabab Al Ahli | Transfer | Summer | Free | First team |
| 7 January 2022 | DF | 5 | Danilo Arboleda | Sheriff | Transfer | Winter | Free | First team |
| 31 January 2022 | DF | 29 | Omar Saeed | Hatta | Transfer | Winter | Free | First team |
| 7 February 2022 | MF | — | Vítor Hugo | Fiorentina U18 | Transfer | Winter | Free | Al Ain U19 |

### Loans in

| No. | Pos | Player | From | Start date | End date | Ref. |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 10 | MF | Cristian Guanca | Al Shabab | 11 July 2021 | End of Season | |

### Out

| Date | Position | No. | Name | To | Fee | Team |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 30 May 2021 | MF | 29 | Abdullah Sameer | Hatta | Free transfer | Reserve U21 |
| 6 June 2021 | DF | 31 | Saoud Al-Abri | Hatta | Free transfer | Reserve U21 |
| 8 June 2021 | MF | — | Hazem Muhanaeh | Free agent | End of contract | Reserve U21 |
| 12 June 2021 | DF | 33 | Tsukasa Shiotani | Free agent | End of contract | First team |
| 15 June 2021 | MF | 99 | Fahad Hadeed | Khor Fakkan | Free transfer | First team |
| 26 June 2021 | DF | 50 | Mohammed Fayez | Free agent | End of contract | First team |
| 1 July 2021 | DF | — | Waleed Siraj | Free agent | End of contract | Reserve U21 |
| 1 July 2021 | DF | 5 | Ismail Ahmed | Free agent | | First team |
| 1 July 2021 | MF | 22 | Shoya Nakajima | Porto | End of loan | First team |
| 8 July 2021 | GK | 12 | Hamad Al-Mansouri | Ittihad Kalba | Free transfer | Reserve U21 |
| 12 July 2021 | MF | 20 | Wilson Eduardo | Free agent | Contract termination | First team |
| 27 July 2021 | DF | 75 | Saif Ghazi | Al Dhafra | Free transfer | Reserve U21 |
| 30 July 2021 | DF | 71 | Ali Al-Haidhani | Al Urooba | Free transfer | First team |
| 6 August 2021 | MF | 21 | Mohammed Helal | Ajman | Free transfer | First team |
| 27 September 2021 | MF | 20 | Mohamed Abdulrahman | Al-Wasl | Free transfer | First team |
| 6 January 2022 | DF | 35 | Ahmed Jamal | Hatta | Contract termination | First team |
| 12 January 2022 | MF | — | Omar Yaisien | Al Hamriyah | Contract termination | First team |
| 28 January 2022 | MF | — | Idriss Mzaouiyani | Fujairah | Free transfer | First team |
