Al Elewa Interview: 'Al Kholood make me feel that I have a place, that I have value' | OneFootball

Abdulaziz Al Elewa may be only aged 21, and in just his fourth season of professional football, but already he credits perseverance for his success this campaign.

Having been on the books of Al Nassr for the past three seasons, and spent last term on loan with Al Ettifaq, the young forward, on Tuesday named Player of the Tournament as Saudi Arabia sealed the AGCFF U23 Gulf Cup, made the permanent move to Al Kholood in the summer.

Both in Riyadh and Dammam, opportunities were hard to come by. At star-studded Al Nassr, Al Elewa got to rub shoulders with some of the world’s elite. None more so, of course, than Cristiano Ronaldo, which is an incredibly valuable learning experience, especially for a promising winger.

Then, at Al Ettifaq, Al Elewa could learn from Moussa Dembele and Georginio Wijnaldum. But as valuable as those experiences were, nothing can compete with actual match minutes. And that’s exactly what the move to Al Kholood has afforded Al Elewa more than anything else.

In nine matches in the 2025-26 Roshn Saudi League, he has eclipsed his total minutes from the past two seasons combined, already racking up 344 for the Ar Rass-based outfit.

Last term, Al Elewa managed a total of 25 minutes in six games, while for Al Nassr the previous season, he clocked up 278 in nine appearances.

This is something the club’s new owner, investor Ben Harburg, has championed during his time in charge so far: the ambitious American wants Al Kholood to be a hotbed for young Saudi talent.

The early success of Al Elewa, the RSL Young Player of the Month for October, provides the perfect case study the next time Harburg is trying to attract a young player to their club.

“This is precisely the approach of Al Kholood,” Harburg shared on social media.

“Transferring or loaning players from a club with a high budget, but where the player does not get the opportunity to participate, to Al Kholood, where they train professionally and are given the opportunity to participate in matches so that the player can build their career and showcase their stardom.”

For Al Elewa, the difficult decision to leave a club like Al Nassr for a so-called smaller team has already been justified.

“It gave me more minutes to participate in more matches,” the youngster says in a sit-down interview with the SPL. “I have to be as confident as possible [and] I have to perform well.

“The other thing is the work I do. The things I do: the work, the commitment, the patience. All these things make you achieve, [and] this is what made me win the Best Player award.”

It helps that the change of ownership has brought with it a fresh energy around Al Kholood, who are in only their second season in the Saudi top flight. For that, Al Elewa pays credit to Harburg for the culture he is building at Al Kholood.

“He always supports the club, and supports us as players,” Al Elewa explains of Harburg, who also owns Cadiz in Spain’s La Liga. “He's a professional. What I like about him is that he's humble. He's humble with the fans, he's humble with the people. I really like humility.

“I'd like to thank him for the work he's doing, and that he's trustworthy. If he's trustworthy, we'll give him that trust in the next matches.

“I really thank him. He makes me feel that I have a place, that I have value [and] that I have a name that I want to pass on.”

Abdulaziz Al Elewa nets a dramatic last-minute winner for Al Kholood at Al Shabab

Al Elewa, who says it is his dream to play next year at the 2026 FIFA World Cup with his country, also credited the support of his loved ones - “of course, my family comes first” - saying that his parents were always there to offer a guiding hand when he needed it most.

“Even if I'm not doing well, or I'm losing, I'm upset - I'm always upset - my dad is there,” he says. “He's coming, he's making it better.”

Al Elewa’s parents aren’t the only ones whose advice he seeks, though. When you share a dressing room with a five-time Ballon d’Or winner, and someone who has achieved almost everything there is to do in football, then that is someone whose counsel you should embrace.

Even, ahem, when it comes to more superficial matters. Such as your hairstyle.

“[Cristiano] told me, ‘You need to cut your hair’,” says Al Elewa, who has always sported a shortish crop of curly black hair.

“Because my hair was longer than [it is now]. He saw me at lunch, at the restaurant, and he asked me, ‘Why don't you cut your hair?’ I have a picture of him, and I remember when he was at Real Madrid, when he won the [UEFA] Champions League, he had short hair.

“He showed me a picture and said, ‘I want you to cut your hair like this!’ I remember we were in China, and when I came back to Riyadh, I cut my hair shorter.”

Yet the longer locks have since returned, as Al Elewa finds his own style, not just in fashion, but also on the football pitch.

After an impressive start to the 2025-26 RSL, and three goals and two assists in Saudi Arabia's fantastic U23 Gulf Cup triumph, he now seems intent on charting his own path.