Adly El-Qayei, the marketing director for Egypt's top team, Ahly, announces he will not extend his contract with the club.

"El-Qayei has officially informed the club board that he will not extend his stay for personal reasons," Ahly explained in a statement on their official website on Monday.

"The management thanked him for his great efforts throughout these 40 years and wishes him the best in the future," they added.

Being a long-serving club employee, a former board member and also the architect of its big-name signings, El-Qayei earned his keep as one of the Ahly icons.

Since taking the charge of the marketing unit at the start of the 2000s, 68-year old El-Qayei has played a prominent role in signing heavyweights players, like Essam El-Hadary, Mohamed Shawky, Mohamed Abu-Treika, Ahmed Hassan, Mohamed Nagy "Gedo," Abdullah El-Said Walid Soliman and many others.

Rumours inside Ahly point to El-Qayei's recent failures in signing prominent African stars and disputes with the new technical staff over certain summer signings as the main reasons of his departure.

(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter: @AO Sports / and facebook AhramOnlineSports)