It has now been claimed there was "great fear" at Al Ahly ahead of their appointment of South African manager Pitso Mosimane in 2020.
When he joined the Club of the Century, the former Mamelodi Sundowns manager, who is currently clubless, was an anomaly as he was the first African coach who was not Egyptian the club had appointed to the position.
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Despite the amount of pressure looming over him as he went into the role, the tactician won a league title, a domestic cup, and two CAF Champions League trophies during his time with the north African giants.
According to Egyptian journalist Abu El Maaty Zaki, however, club president Mahmoud El Khatib and the rest of the Al Ahly hierarchy were concerned about Mosimane's appointment before it was made official.
"There was great fear on the part of the Al Ahly club's board of directors and El Khatib about contracting with Mosimane and appointing a foreign African technical director after the departure of the Swiss Rene Weiler," he said on YouTube show Egy Podcast Sport.
"But one of El Khatib's close friends leaked the information to me, and I confirmed it and followed the story until the flight tickets and the official contract was sent."
The South African tactician was in charge of the club for an impressive 620 days, during which he oversaw 102 matches, according to Transfermarkt.
Since then, only current manager Marcel Koller has been in charge for a longer period of time, with the Swiss having been appointed to the role in September 2022.
Mosimane also did well with the side on a global scale, equalling the Egyptian giants' best finish of third place at the prestigious FIFA Club World Cup on two occasions.
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Since departing the Red Devils in June 2022, the South African coach has taken his expertise out of the continent, managing Saudi Arabian sides Al Ahli and Abha Club, as well as United Arab Emirates outfit Al Wahda.