Fahad Al-Muwallad

Al-Ittihad

2012–13 season

Fahad continued to impress and on 2 August 2012, Fahad scored his first professional goal against Al-Raed in a 2–2 draw. During the 2012/13 season, Fahad started to become known as one of biggest talents in Asian football, after scoring many goals for Al-Ittihad from the wing. Fahad then grew further international attention when, at the age of just 17 years, he scored the decisive goal in the quarter-final of the prestigious AFC Champions League against Marcelo Lippi's Guangzhou Evergrande that sent Al-Ittihad into the semi-finals. Fahad also lit up the Champions Cup where he, first, scored in Al-Ittihad's semi-final victory over Al-Fateh and then he scored in the final in a 4–2 victory over Al-Shabab played in front of over 50,000 at the King Fahd International Stadium. Fahad was later voted the Champions Cup MVP (Most Valuable Player) due to his performances throughout the tournament. Fahad finished the 2012/13 season with an impressive 10 goals in 26 games in all competitions.

2013–14 season

Fahad opened his account for the new season in the Saudi El Clasico in dramatic fashion, putting Al-Ittihad ahead after a clever through ball from Saud Kariri. Al-Ittihad lost the match 5–2 at the King Fahd International Stadium, but Fahad's performance was praised by Al-Ittihad manager Beñat San José and pundits alike. Fahad then scored in a vital match against Al-Ettifaq, opening proceedings with a powerful drive into the…

In May 2018, he was named in Saudi Arabia's preliminary squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. However, his performance in the World Cup was considered to be a deep disappointment, due to his incapability and his silence in important moments. Saudi Arabia eventually crashed out in the group stage, having lost 0–5 to Russia and 0–1 to Uruguay. In 2022, he was removed from the Saudi squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup on doping allegations.

On 12 September 2024, Al-Muwallad was admitted to intensive care after a fall from the balcony of his second-floor apartment in Dubai.

Fahad Al-Muwallad was born in Jeddah and from a very early age he became well known as a prominent footballing talent in the local area. He was then approached by a Barcelona scout after seeing him put in a good amount of great performances. He rejected the offer then went on to join the Al-Ittihad youth team from the age of 6, he worked his way up the ranks and started to gain national media attention when he started training with the first-team squad at the age of just 15 years. On 7 February 2012, at just 16-years-old, Fahad al-Muwallad made his professional debut against Al-Raed. After playing more matches regularly in the Saudi Professional League, Fahad became renowned for his blistering pace and his superb technical ability while showing brilliant composure in front of goal.