Mansoor Al-Najai

Mansoor Al-Najai
Personal information
Full name	Mansoor Al-Najai
Date of birth	July 1, 1978 (age 45)
Place of birth	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Height	1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Youth career
	Damac
Senior career*
Years	Team
1998–2010	Al-Ahli
2007–2008	→ Al Hazm (loan)
2010–2012	Al-Qadisiyah
2012–2013	Hajer
2013–2016	Al-Faisaly
2016–2017	Al-Batin
2018	Najran
International career
2004–2010	Saudi Arabia
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 26 January 2017

Mansoor Al-Najai was born In 1978 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and is a Saudi Arabian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Najaran SC. He is often regarded as one of the most influential players in Saudi Arabian football.

Al-Najai has won 11 trophies in his career including 3

Al Batin.

He is one of the oldest players in any Saudi Arabian league at the age of 40 and he has never played for a club outside of Saudi Arabia.

He represented Saudi Arabia in 12 matches which were in 5 different seasons. He played for Saudi Arabia for two FIFA matches including the FIFA World Cup 2010 qualifiers against Iran and Uzbekistan where he only conceded one goal as Saudi Arabia drew 1–1 against Iran and won 4–0 against Uzbekistan. He played two games in the 2004 AFC Asian Cup and he won the 2003-04 Arabian Gulf Cup.

Club career

Youth career

Al-Alhi

Al-Najai joined the Al-Alhi academy from

Damac F.C.

and represented them at every youth level until 1999 where he signed a contract with Al-Alhi senior team after he performed very well in the U-23 Saudi Arabia professional league. He was voted the Most Promising Asian Youth Player of 1999.

Senior career

Al-Alhi

At the age of 21, on his birthday, Al-Najai signed a professional contract for the top

Saudi Federation cup

and a Crown Prince Cup. He became less important for the team and was sent out on loan for the 2007/08 season to Al-Hazem. Back at the club for the 2008/09 season, Al-Najai played 20 league games and once again was selected for Saudi Arabia. He then played his last season for Al-Alhi and only played seven games. He won fan's best player in his final season for the club.

Al Hazem (on-loan)

He became less important for his team and was sent out on loan for the 2007/08 season to Al Hazem who were in the Saudi Professional league at the time. He performed very well and was voted the third best goalkeeper in Asia for his great performances. He was selected again for three Saudi Arabia games.

Al-Qadisyah

Al-Najai signed a two-year contract for the club and came on a free transfer. He played 25 games in his first season and kept 12 clean sheets and saved three penalties. He won the golden glove and best goalkeeper of the Saudi Professional league for his performances. He won these two awards again the following season for playing 21 games and keeping 12 clean sheets. His contract was not renewed and moved to

Al-Faisaly

Al-Najai signed a three-year contract with the Saudi Professional League Club and played 25 games in his first season and kept 7 clean sheets. In his next season, he only played 14 games because of injury but still managed to keep 7 clean sheets. In his last season for the club, he played 20 games, saving 6 penalties and keeping 10 clean sheets. His contract was not renewed and moved on a free to

Hajer FC.

Hajer FC

Al-Najai signed a one-year contract for the Saudi Professional league club but suffered many injuries which caused him only to play 11 games and only kept 2 clean sheets. Hajer FC finished 5th, their best position ever in the top-flight.

Al-Batin

Al-Najai signed for recently promoted Al-Batin on a year contract and played only one game for the top-flight club. He was given the number 30 jersey which he kept when playing for Najaran SC too. He announced his retirement in 2017 but three weeks later came back because he said "I was bored."

Najaran SC

Al-Najai signed for first division club in 2018 and played 8 matches for the club in the 2018/19 season.

International career

Al-Najai was born in Saudi Arabia and was first called up in 2004 for two friendlies and came on as a substitute for both of them where he wore the number 22 jersey. Also in 2004, he played the final group game in the AFC Asian Cup which he saved a penalty against Turkmenistan. He was also selected for the 2004 Arabian Gulf Cup which he played two games in and they eventually won the cup. This was his only ever international title. In 2008, he played 5 games, including two world cup qualifiers against Iran and Uzbekistan. He played three friendlies for Saudi Arabia in 2009. He played at three Arabian gulf cups and one Asian cup. He has played 12 times for Saudi Arabia and has never played at a FIFA World Cup.