Al Ahli sign Lima from Benfica

abu dhabi —Al Ahli’s search for a striker has come to an end with the Red Knights signing Rodrigo Lima on a two-year contract, on Friday.

The six-time League champions were linked to a host of names including former Chelsea star Demba Ba, Brazilian Luiz Adriano, Chile’s Copa America hero Eduardo Vargas, Tottenham Hotspur’s Emmanuel Adebayor as well as Fenerbahce’s Moussa Sow and Swansea City’s Bafetimbi Gomis in recent days.

And with the AFC Champions League squad registration set to close, Al Ahli have have homed in on Lima. The 32-year-old joins from Portuguese side Benfica for a reported fee of € 7 million.

The Red Knights were in negotiations with Benfica and Lima’s agent Jorge Mendes and the deal was finalised on Friday night.

“Al Ahli has contracted with Brazilian striker Rodrigo Lima from Benfica for two years, subject to renewal,” the club announced on their official Twitter account.

Lima will link up with Brazilian compatriot Everton Ribeiro, Ciel, Kwon Kyung-won and Oussama Assaidi. Chilean midfielder Luis Antonio Jimenez has left to join rivals Al Nasr.

Lima, who joined Benfica in 2012, has made 144 appearances and scored 70 goals. He made 44 appearances last season and netted 19 goals.

Al Ahli, who finished a lowly seventh in the Arabian Gulf League last season, begin their campaign against Al Fujairah at the Rashid Stadium. More importantly, Cosmin Olaroiu’s side travel to Iran to face Naft Tehran in the first leg of the AFC Champions League quarterfinal on August 26.