Mohammad Al-Sahlawi

Background

Al-Sahlawi's father died when he was young and his mother raised him with his brothers.

Career

Early career

He played for local side Al-Faisaly before he moved to Al-Ta'awoon. He began to gain fame in Al-Ta'awoon when he was just 15 years old, however his family's desire was for him to complete school first. Al-Sahlawi continued to improve, attracting attention from larger clubs.

In 2002 he went for a trial in Al-Hilal. Al-Qadisiya

Al-Sahlawi was 17 years old when his talent started to become clear, during his participation in "Karkiz" Championship which led to Adel Body (the administrative of Al-Qadisiya Handball) registering him in Al-Qadisiya, so he signed for SR40,000 and a car. After only two seasons, specifically in the 2006–07 season (when Yasser Al-Qahtani moved to Al-Hilal with the largest deal ever at that time), Sahlawi broke into the first team squad so he had to assume responsibility of Al-Qadisiya attack alongside his teammate Yousef Al-Salem.

Following administration issues Al-Sahlawi experienced a difficult period where he was relegated to the bench, while at the same time he was leading the Saudi Olympic team. Following Al-Qadisiya's relegation to the first division and the departure of most of the star players in the team. Al-Sahlawi was lent to Al-Fateh and played five matches scoring one goal.

Despite other offers he returned to Al-Qadisiya. In his return season he scored 18 goals and registered 8 assists. At the end of the season he signed a new deal with Al-Qadisiya for three years for a contract worth SR3 million.

He ended the 2008 season as the Top Goalscorer in Saudi First Division. Al-Nassr

He moved to Al-Nassr in 2009 for SR32 million ($8 million), breaking Yasser Al-Qahtani record transfer as the largest deal in Saudi football history. In 2015, he was selected as one of the world's best top goalscorers by the IFFHS.

Youth

Al-Sahlawi scored his first goal for the national team in the 2006 AFC Youth Championship against Iraq U-20 in the 52nd minute.

The game ended in a draw with a score of 2–2. Senior

He even scored 5 goals against the same opposition on 17 November 2015 in a 10-0 drubbing.

Achievements

• In his first season with Al-Nassr Al-Sahlawi scored 21 goals in 36 matches, and received the Young Player of the Year award from STC. His second came against Malaysia U-20 within 13 minutes, and they won with a score of 2–0, although they lost in the quarter-finals against Japan U-20 1 goal to 2. On 3 September 2015, Al-Sahlawi scored his first senior hat-trick, in a 7–0 defeat of Timor-Leste in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier.