This photo, obtained by the Twitter handle of H E Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the President of Al Duhail, shows Mario Mandzukic signing the contract with the Qatari club.
Doha: Former Croatian international Mario Mandzukic yesterday signed a deal with Qatari football giants Al Duhail, the club announced yesterday.
“Welcome to Al Duhail, Mario Mandzukic,” the club posted on Twitter along with a photo of the Croatian signing the deal, originally shared on the twitter handle of H E Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the President of the Red Knights.
The 33-year-old will team up with the current QSL table leaders, coached by Portuguese Rui Faria in the coming days.
The former Juventus player had been linked with a move to Manchester United and also Los Angeles Football Club in the MLS before the Al Duhail deal.
The charismatic striker, who famously took Croatia to the World Cup final when he scored in extra-time against England, had scored 44 goals in 164 appearances for Juventus.
Before joining the Italian giants, Mandzukic played for Marsonia, NK Zagreb, Dinamo Zagreb, VfL Wolfsburg, Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid.
He won the Champions League with Bayern in 2012-13 and represented Croatia on 89 occasions, including in the World Cup final.
He retired from international football after the World Cup in 2018 after scoring 33 goals for his national team.
Mandzukic has scored 212 club goals in a superb career.
Earlier, English newspapers had reported that Premier League club West Ham United’s manager Manuel Pellegrini was pushing to signMandzukic.
The veteran forward was linked with West Ham under Slaven Bilic and in Pellegrini’s first window in charge last summer too.
