A club president has now revealed that everything was in place for Sadio Mane to leave Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr in the final days of the window, but the African superstar turned down the move.
Reports had previously suggested that the Senegal international had been looking to exit Al Nassr after the relationship between him and the five-time Ballon d'Or winner grew tense.
Read: Osimhen 'agrees terms' with new club!
It was then claimed that Al Ittihad were pushing to sign the former Liverpool star, with Karim Benzema believed to have told the club he would be keen to play alongside the 32-year-old.
The stars appeared to be aligning for Mane to make the move as agreements between the two clubs had also fallen into place, but, according to Ittihad president Loay Mashabi, the African star rejected the opportunity.
"We agreed everything with Al Nassr for Sadio, but the player then refused to move," Mashabi said, per Sportskeeda.
Al Nassr kicked off their 2024/25 league campaign with a 1-1 draw with Al Raed, which was followed by a 4-1 victory over Al Feiha on Thursday.
Mane was named in the starting line-up for both of those encounters, and while he has not opened his account in front of goal thus far, the forward has registered two assists as he looks to pick up from where he left off last season.
The Senegalese garnered 19 goal and 11 assists in 46 appearances across all competitions for the Knights of Najd in the 2023/24 campaign, helping them to a second-place finish.
Read: Ex-PSL boss suffers 'big financial loss' amid Africa return
With the Saudi transfer window having slammed shut on Monday night, the former Bayern Munich star will be staying put, alongside Ronaldo, until at least January, when the window opens once again.