Villarreal sign first Qatari in La Liga history

Doha: A teenage forward is set to become the first player from Qatar ever to play in La Liga and possibly the Champions League after being signed by Spanish club Villarreal.

The transfer of Akram Afif was confirmed on Twitter by his parent club Al Sadd, the Doha team for which former Barcelona great Xavi Hernandez plays, late on Saturday evening.

In a statement on its website, subsequently retweeted by Afif, Villarreal also confirmed that an agreement had been reached “in principle”. The 19-year-old, who was born in Doha, is no stranger to Spanish football having played for Villarreal and Sevilla’s youth teams. Since 2015, Afif has been playing for KAS Eupen, a Qatari-owned team in the Belgian second division.