Ali Al-Bulaihi

Ali Al-Bulaihi
Al-Bulaihi with Saudi Arabia at the 2023 AFC Asian Cup
Personal information
Full name Ali Hadi Mohammed Al-Bulaihi[1]
Date of birth (1989-11-21) 21 November 1989 (age 34)[2]
Place of birth Najran, Saudi Arabia
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[3]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Al Hilal
Number 5
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2014 Al-Amal
2014–2015 Al-Nahda
2015–2017 Al-Fateh 47 (1)
2017– Al Hilal 146 (14)
International career‡
2018– Saudi Arabia 54 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 November 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:11, 5 September 2024 (UTC)

Ali Hadi Mohammed Al-Bulaihi (Arabic: علي هادي محمد البليهي; born 21 November 1989) is a Saudi who plays as a centre-back for Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal and the Saudi Arabia national team.[4]

Club career

Al-Bulaihi started his career at Al-Amal where he spent three years before joining Al-Nahda in 2014.[5] On 23 July 2015, he joined Al-Fateh.[6]

Al-Hilal

On 21 June 2017, Al-Hilal signed Al Bulaihi on a free transfer. He signed a three-year contract with the club.[7]

In April 2024, in a derby match against rival team Al Nassr, he gathered some controversy after being elbowed by Cristiano Ronaldo after trying to intimidate him, resulting in a red card for Ronaldo and a yellow card for Al-Bulaihi.[8]

International career

Al-Bulaihi with Saudi Arabia at the 2018 FIFA World Cup

In June 2018, Al-Bulaihi was named in Saudi Arabia's squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[9] He made his debut in the competition against Uruguay.[10] In November 2022, he was called up for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[11] In the opening game, he played the whole match as his team defeated the eventual world champions Argentina 2–1.[12]

In January 2024, he drew criticism for shoving and grabbing the hair of South Korean player Son Heung-min, unprovoked, during the 2023 AFC Asian Cup round of 16. Al-Bulaihi had previously similarly taunted Argentine player Lionel Messi by slapping him on the back.[13][14]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 31 May 2024[15]
Club Season League King Cup Asia Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Al-Fateh 2015–16 24 0 1 0 — 1[a] 0 26 0
2016–17 23 1 2 0 6 0 2[a] 1 33 2
Total 47 1 3 0 6 0 3 1 59 2
Al-Hilal 2017–18 5 0 1 0 4 0 — 10 0
2018–19 25 3 0 0 6 1 8[b] 0 39 4
2019–20 14 2 6 0 11 1 3[c] 0 34 3
2020–21 16 2 0 0 6 1 0 0 22 3
2021–22 22 3 3 0 7 0 3[d] 0 35 3
2022–23 22 1 2 1 5 0 4[e] 0 33 2
2023–24 32 2 4 0 12 1 8[f] 0 56 3
Total 136 13 16 1 51 4 26 0 229 18
Career totals 183 14 19 1 57 4 29 1 288 20
  1. ^ a b Appearance in Crown Prince Cup
  2. ^ Six appearances in Arab Club Champions Cup, one appearance in Saudi Super Cup, and one appearance in Saudi-Egyptian Super Cup
  3. ^ Appearances in FIFA Club World Cup
  4. ^ One appearance in Saudi Super Cup, and two appearances in FIFA Club World Cup
  5. ^ One appearance in Saudi Super Cup, and three appearances in FIFA Club World Cup
  6. ^ Six appearances in Arab Club Champions Cup, and two appearances in Saudi Super Cup

International

Statistics accurate as of match played 5 September 2024.[16]
Saudi Arabia
Year Apps Goals
2018 11 0
2019 6 0
2020 2 0
2021 8 0
2022 13 0
2023 7 1
2024 7 1
Total 54 2
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 8 September 2023 St James' Park, Newcastle, England  Costa Rica 1–2 1–3 Friendly
2 16 January 2024 Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar  Oman 2–1 2–1 2023 AFC Asian Cup

Honours

Al Hilal

Individual

References

  1. ^ Ali Al-Bulaihi at Soccerway Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ "FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2019: List of Players: Al Hilal SFC" (PDF). FIFA. 5 December 2019. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 December 2019.
  3. ^ "Ali Al-Bulaihi". Saudi Pro League. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  4. ^ "علي هادي آل بليهي - Ali Al-Boleahi".
  5. ^ "النجم علي البليهي من ملعب نادي البكيرية إلى الملاعب العالمية".
  6. ^ ""الفتح" يوقع مع "البليهي".. ويواجه "الترجي" ودياً غداً". 23 July 2015.
  7. ^ "الهلال السعودي يعلن ضم مدافع الفتح". 9 July 2019.
  8. ^ Butler, Alex (9 April 2024). "Watch: Cristiano Ronaldo red-carded for elbowing Saudi Super Cup soccer foe". Yahoo! Sport. UPI. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  9. ^ Soliman, Seif (4 June 2018). "Saudi Arabia announce final 23-man World Cup squad". kingfut.com. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  10. ^ "Uruguay 1–0 Saudi Arabia". FIFA. 20 June 2018.
  11. ^ "Renard announces the national team list for the World Cup 2022 in Qatar". Saudi Arabian Football Federation. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  12. ^ "'You won't win' - What Saudi Arabia defender Ali Al-Bulayhi said to Lionel Messi during shock victory over Argentina". Goal.com. 22 November 2022.
  13. ^ "Son Heung-min involved in clash with Saudi player who has already confronted Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo". SPORTbible. 31 January 2024. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  14. ^ "메시 도발했던 사우디 선수, 손흥민 머리채 잡고 황희찬 목 조르고". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 31 January 2024. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  15. ^ "Ali Al-Bulaihi". Soccerway.
  16. ^ Ali Al-Bulaihi at National-Football-Teams.com
  17. ^ "Al Hilal thrash Al Ittihad to win Saudi Super Cup". ESPN. 11 April 2024. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  18. ^ "Team of the Tournament". Instagram.com. AFC Asian Cup. 12 February 2024. Retrieved 12 February 2024.