Zamalek's Shikabala (Reuters)
Zamalek's board of directors has officially decided to pardon football star Mahmoud “Shikabala” Abdel-Razek and accept his return from Portugal's Sporting Lisbon.
"After Monday's meeting, the board officially decided to accept Shikabala's apology," the club said in a statement on its official website Monday night.
"The club will pay the first instalment of the deal before asking for the player's international card," the statement added.
Last week, Zamalek backed out of signing the former winger after he failed to attend a press conference where his return was to be unveiled.
On Friday, the player issued an official apology to both the club's management and fans, promising not to repeat such behaviour in the future.
The flamboyant, left-footed winger forced his own transfer from Zamalek to Sporting in January 2014.
After just four months and a handful of appearances, Shikabala, known for his temper and lack of discipline, went AWOL and was not accepted back onto the team.
Zamalek has chased after his signature since the start of summer and had finally managed to reach an agreement with Sporting.
The recently-crowned Egyptian champions were planning to loan him out to Ismaily, where coach Ahmed "Mido" Hossam had promised to restore his former teammate to glory.
Aswan-born talent Shikabala first played for Zamalek in 1996, catching the eyes of many with his skills and inspiring the Whites to win the Egyptian League in 2004 as well as the Egypt Cup in 2008 and 2013.
He played for Greece's PAOK between 2005 and 2007, and was loaned to Al-Wasl of UAE in the 2012-13 season.
The 29-year-old has made a few international appearances with Egypt throughout his career. He was part of the Pharaohs' squad that won the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, yet he played only a single game in the continental competition.
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