Saud Abdulhamid Scout Report — RC Lens’s History-Making Saudi Arabian Right-Back
There is a name in French football now making headlines for a new “first” seemingly every week: Saud Abdulhamid. The 27-year-old Saudi Arabian right-back, who wears the shirt for RC Lens, became the first Saudi player to appear in the UEFA Champions League when he took the field against Sporting Lisbon this past October. It is the latest entry in a historic list he has been writing with Lens — he was already the first Saudi to play in Ligue 1, the first Saudi to score in Ligue 1, and the first Saudi to lift the Coupe de France. But this report is about more than statistical curiosities — Abdulhamid has become a genuine source of squad value and on-field reliability on Lens’s right flank.
Born in Jeddah, Abdulhamid began his career in Al-Ittihad’s youth system before making 75 league appearances and scoring 2 goals for the first team between 2018 and 2022. A 2022 move to Al-Hilal, one of the Saudi Pro League’s most ambitious clubs, brought him 72 appearances and a trophy haul including the league title, the King’s Cup, and the Super Cup. The turning point in his career came in August 2024, when AS Roma signed him for €2.5 million, becoming the first club to bring a Saudi player directly into Serie A. With Roma, he became the first Saudi to feature in European competition (against Athletic Bilbao), the first Saudi to play in Serie A (away at Napoli), and the first Saudi to score in a European continental competition (against Braga) — but his total game time at Roma was limited to just 4 league appearances, and he never secured a permanent place in the rotation.
That is where RC Lens stepped in. Joining Ligue 1 in August 2025 on a season-long loan with a purchase option, Abdulhamid made 25 league appearances and scored 2 goals in 2025-26 — comfortably exceeding what would typically be expected from a loan signing on the right side of defence. His goal against Metz on 8 March 2026 made him the first Saudi to score in Ligue 1, and his presence in the Coupe de France final win over Nice on 22 May 2026 made him the first Saudi player to lift a major European trophy. That run of performances convinced Lens’s hierarchy: on 4 June 2026, the club exercised the purchase option agreed with Roma, signing Abdulhamid permanently through to 2029.
Despite the 2026-27 season still being in its early stages, Abdulhamid’s standing in the squad is clear: he has started 2 of Lens’s 3 Ligue 1 matches so far, racking up 165 minutes and 1 goal, with FotMob crediting him an average rating of 7.17 — placing him among the club’s most consistent defensive performers. His role is not purely defensive either — he rotates on the right flank with a more advanced version of Przemysław Frankowski and shares time with the experienced Ruben Aguilar, though current data points to Abdulhamid being the preferred starter. At 1.71 m, he doesn’t fit the classic towering full-back profile, but his pace and box-to-box running capacity meet the physical demands expected of a modern wing-back.
His market value tells a scattered story depending on the source: Transfermarkt’s August 2026 update saw his valuation leap from €5 million to €9 million — a historic rise that put him at the top of the list of most valuable Saudi players. FotMob’s own algorithm, by contrast, puts his value at €3.2 million, while other data providers sit in the €4-6 million range. That spread illustrates just how much valuation models can diverge for a player who has seen a rapid rise in a short span.
On the international stage, Abdulhamid carries real pedigree: 58 caps and 1 goal for Saudi Arabia. Having debuted against Mali in 2019, he has featured at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the 2023 Asian Cup, and the 2026 World Cup — making him one of the national team’s most consistent right-back options in recent years. After recovering from a recent injury spell, he logged 30 minutes in a pre-season friendly before starting against Sporting Lisbon in the match that made history, confirming he is both physically back and holding a priority spot in the rotation.
In short, Abdulhamid has moved beyond “loan experiment” status on RC Lens’s right flank and become part of the club’s long-term plan. As Lens continues to compete in the Champions League and Ligue 1 this season, both his defensive discipline and his attacking contribution are proving critical to the team’s balance on the right side. The rapid rise in his market value, combined with his settled place in the national team, is also a sign that his name could start being linked with bigger clubs in upcoming transfer windows.
