Ali Al-Bulaihi

Ali Al-Bulaihi

Ali Hadi Mohammed Al-Bulaihi (Arabic: عَلِيّ هَادِي مُحَمَّد الْبُلَيْهِيّ; born 21 November 1989) is a Saudi Arabian professional football player who plays as a centre-back for Saudi Pro League club Al-Shabab, on loan from Al Hilal, and the Saudi Arabia national team.

Club career

Ali Al-Bulaihi

Al-Bulaihi started his career at Al-Amal where he spent three years before joining Al-Nahda in 2014. On 23 July 2015, he joined Al-Fateh.

Al-Hilal

On 21 June 2017, Al-Hilal signed Al Bulaihi on a free transfer. He signed a three-year contract with the club.

In April 2024, in a derby match against rival team Al Nassr, he courted controversy after being elbowed by Cristiano Ronaldo following attempts to intimidate him, resulting in a red card for Ronaldo and a yellow card for Al-Bulaihi.

Al-Shabab (loan)

On 1 February 2026, Al-Bulaihi joined Al-Shabab on loan for six-month.

International career

Ali Al-Bulaihi

Al-Bulaihi with Saudi Arabia at the 2018 FIFA World Cup

In June 2018, Al-Bulaihi was named in Saudi Arabia's squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He made his debut in the competition against Uruguay. In November 2022, he was called up for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. In the opening game, he played the whole match as his team defeated the eventual world champions Argentina 2–1.

In January 2024, he drew criticism for shoving and grabbing the hair of South Korean player Son Heung-min, unprovoked, during the 2023 AFC Asian Cup round of 16. Al-Bulaihi had previously similarly taunted Argentine player Lionel Messi by slapping him on the back.

Career statistics

Club

<table><thead><tr><th>Club</th><th>Season</th><th>League</th><th>King's Cup</th><th>Asia</th><th>Other</th><th>Total</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Division</td><td>Apps</td><td>Goals</td><td>Apps</td><td>Goals</td><td>Apps</td><td>Goals</td><td>Apps</td><td>Goals</td><td>Apps</td><td>Goals</td></tr><tr><td>Al-Fateh</td><td>2015–16</td><td>Saudi Pro League</td><td>24</td><td>0</td><td>1</td><td>0</td><td>—</td><td>1</td><td>0</td><td>26</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>2016–17</td><td>23</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>0</td><td>6</td><td>0</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>33</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>Total</td><td>47</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>0</td><td>6</td><td>0</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>59</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>Al-Hilal</td><td>2017–18</td><td>Saudi Pro League</td><td>5</td><td>0</td><td>1</td><td>0</td><td>4</td><td>0</td><td>—</td><td>10</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>2018–19</td><td>25</td><td>3</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>6</td><td>1</td><td>8</td><td>0</td><td>39</td><td>4</td></tr><tr><td>2019–20</td><td>14</td><td>2</td><td>6</td><td>0</td><td>11</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>0</td><td>34</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td>2020–21</td><td>16</td><td>2</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>6</td><td>1</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>22</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td>2021–22</td><td>22</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>0</td><td>7</td><td>0</td><td>3</td><td>0</td><td>35</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td>2022–23</td><td>22</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>5</td><td>0</td><td>4</td><td>0</td><td>33</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>2023–24</td><td>32</td><td>2</td><td>4</td><td>0</td><td>12</td><td>1</td><td>8</td><td>0</td><td>56</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td>2024–25</td><td>26</td><td>4</td><td>3</td><td>0</td><td>9</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>0</td><td>40</td><td>5</td></tr><tr><td>Total</td><td>162</td><td>17</td><td>19</td><td>1</td><td>65</td><td>6</td><td>30</td><td>0</td><td>274</td><td>24</td></tr><tr><td>Career total</td><td>209</td><td>18</td><td>22</td><td>1</td><td>71</td><td>6</td><td>33</td><td>1</td><td>333</td><td>26</td></tr></tbody></table>

International

Statistics accurate as of match played 31 December 2024.

Saudi Arabia
Year	Apps	Goals
2018	11	0
2019	6	0
2020	2	0
2021	8	0
2022	13	0
2023	7	1
2024	13	1
Total	60	2

<table><thead><tr><th>No.</th><th>Date</th><th>Venue</th><th>Opponent</th><th>Score</th><th>Result</th><th>Competition</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>8 September 2023</td><td>St James' Park, Newcastle, England</td><td> Costa Rica</td><td>1–2</td><td>1–3</td><td>Friendly</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>16 January 2024</td><td>Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar</td><td> Oman</td><td>2–1</td><td>2–1</td><td>2023 AFC Asian Cup</td></tr></tbody></table>

Honours

Ali Al-Bulaihi

• Saudi Pro League: 2017–18, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2023–24 • Kings Cup: 2019–20, 2022–23, 2023–24 • Saudi Super Cup: (/wiki/2018SaudiSuperCup), (/wiki/2021SaudiSuperCup), (/wiki/2023SaudiSuperCup), (/wiki/2024SaudiSuperCup) • AFC Champions League: (/wiki/2019AFCChampionsLeague), (/wiki/2021AFCChampionsLeague)

• AFC Asian Cup Team of the Tournament: (/wiki/2023AFCAsianCup)