A former Al Ahly star has revealed that their wages were slashed after suffering the club's worst-ever defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns in the CAF Champions League.
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During the 2018/19 edition of Africa's premier club competition, the tournament's record winners suffered their heaviest-ever loss as goals from Themba Zwane, Wayne Arendse, Ricardo Nascimento, Gaston Sirino and Phakamani Mahlambi ensured Masandawana a 5-0 victory.
The result did not go down well with Ahly's stakeholders as not only were their fans left outraged, but so were the chiefs of the club.
While he did not participate in the fixture at the Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium, Mohamed Sherif was part of the Red Devils squad during that time.
The Egypt international has since left the Cairo International Stadium for Al-Khaleej in the Saudi Pro League, but recently recalled how Ahly's chiefs decided to cut their wages as punishment for the historic defeat to Sundowns.
"When we lost to Sundowns in 2019, 10% of our salaries were deducted. It was a strange match and there was something wrong. The 10 players were not successful," the striker told MBC 2.
"The result was a disaster, but losing by five goals is a big thing. We sat together as players and talked. It was a difficult season for Al Ahly, and we vowed at the time that we would win the league championship."
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The Egyptian juggernauts have never won a match in South Africa, but with both Sundowns and Orlando Pirates successfully qualifying for the CAF Champions League once again this season, perhaps they will have the chance to change that record later in this campaign.