Algerian playmaker Yacine Brahimi will stay in Qatari football but is switching clubs after the 32-year-old completed a move to Al-Gharafa SC from Al-Rayyan on Tuesday. Brahimi got off to a splendid start in the Qatar Stars League when he joined Al-Rayyan for the 2019-20 season, scoring fifteen goals on his way to becoming co-leading scorer with Qatar national team star Akram Afif for the season. However, the former FC Porto star’s production declined along with the club’s fortunes as Rayyan slumped to an eighth place finish in the league this season.
Brahimi appeared in all three of Algeria’s matches during their underachieving 2021 Africa Cup of Nations campaign and was a star performer during the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup, contributing three goals including one in the final against Tunisia as Algeria won the competition. Brahimi made 85 appearances in all competitions for Al-Rayyan over three seasons and scored 33 goals, ending his spell by scoring two goals during Rayyan’s ongoing 2022 AFC Champions League run as the club shook off poor domestic form to qualify for the knockout stages.
