Al-Jazira signs with Malcolm

Al-Jazira has signed Brazilian winger Malcom Oliveira, arriving from Saudi club Al-Hilal, as announced by last season’s fifth-placed team in the UAE Pro League. Al-Jazira posted a video on its X (formerly Twitter) account to announce the deal, writing, “Abu Dhabi’s pride accepts nothing but the best… Malcom is now a Jazira player.” Al-Hilal had preempted the UAE announcement by confirming it had “signed a release agreement with the player,” despite one year remaining on his contract, noting that he had joined them in 2023. Under Romanian coach Cosmin Olăroiu, Al-Jazira aims to compete strongly for the titles in which they are participating this season, including the AFC Champions League Two. Al-Jazira kicked off the new campaign with a heavy 4-1 defeat to Saudi side Al-Ittihad in Abu Dhabi in the AFC Champions League Elite playoff, before beating Hatta 2-0 in the opening round of the domestic league, a competition from which they have been absent since the 2020-2021 season. The 29-year-old Malcom previously played for Corinthians (2014-2016), French club Bordeaux (2016-2018), Spanish side Barcelona (2018-2019), and Russian club Zenit St. Petersburg (2019-2023), before joining Al-Hilal in 2023. He scored 49 goals and provided 40 assists for the Saudi club across all competitions.