Here is how the Saudi football twins became overnight social media stars, find out all about the Lajami twin brothers
The Lajami twins of Saudi football, Ali and Qassem, may have gained a whole new army of fans recently, but the 27-year-old pair have been flying into tackles on the local scene of the Kingdom for almost a decade now.
Who are Ali and Qassem the Lajami twin brothers Al-Fateh football players in the Saudi Pro League
When Sadio Mane of Al-Nassr, who had recently moved to Riyadh, discovered that his teammate Ali had a twin who played for the opposition Al-Fateh, he was left feeling double bad, bringing the twins to the attention of the world.
Sadio Mane got confused when he met Qassem Lajami, the twin brother of his teammate Ali Lajami. Qassem and Ali are identical twins. Qassem plays for Al Fateh.
I’m sure he was like ‘why am I going to play against my teammate? When did he leave ?’😅 pic.twitter.com/GkhmedwbsN
— Anthony Sunnybobo (@OkoroAnthonySu1) August 25, 2023
Although the unique dialogue was well received by viewers worldwide, seasoned SPL strikers will be far more familiar with the two international defenders. Unsurprisingly, the twins began their careers at Al-Muhheet together before moving to the Eastern Province to play for Al-Khaleej’s youth team as 18-year-olds during the 2014–15 season.
Both athletes made swift progress to Al-Khaleej’s first team; Ali participated in 51 games with the group before transferring to Al-Fateh in 2018.
Qassem would go on to play 70 SPL games for Al-Khaleej before transferring to Al-Fateh a year later, where he is still playing now. Ali made a significant move to Al-Nassr in 2020, where he now competes against players like Mane, Talisca, Marcelo Brozovic, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Talisca.
Ali belonged to the elite team of Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal athletes that played Paris Saint-Germain and Lionel Messi on January 19 in a match that marked Ronaldo’s debut in Saudi Arabia. In the midst of a media frenzy, the Saudi team fell short of the French champions 5-4 that evening at King Fahd International Stadium.
Although Ali made his debut in 2019 and Qassem only made his debut for the Green Falcons earlier this year, the siblings have both played exactly three times apiece for the Saudi national team.
Not many players or fans will notice the twins the way Mane did after Friday night’s social media exposure. Meanwhile, Al Nassr beat Al Fateh with an easy score of 5-0 on Friday in the Saudi Pro League, spurred on by their stunning success in the AFC Champions League earlier in the week.