Ali Al-Habsi

Wigan Athletic (loan)

In July 2010, Al-Habsi joined local rivals Wigan Athletic on a season-long loan. He made his debut on 24 August 2010 in a League Cup match against Hartlepool United and made his League debut four days later against Tottenham Hotspur. He was named Wigan's player of the season for the 2010–11 season.

Wigan Athletic On 4 July 2011 Al-Habsi joined the club permanently, signing a four-year contract for an estimated £4 million transfer fee from Bolton. Al-Habsi established himself as an outstanding penalty saver, saving approximately 50% of all the penalties he faced since joining Wigan. Robin van Persie, Carlos Tevez, Javier Hernández and Mikel Arteta are among the penalty takers Al-Habsi has stopped. This earned him links to Liverpool and Arsenal. During the back end of the 2012–13 season, Al-Habsi was dropped to the bench as his position as Wigan's number one was threatened by the arrival of the athletic, young Spaniard Joel Robles on loan. Al-Habsi started Wigan's FA Cup semi-final win over Millwall but was on the bench for the final itself. Shortly after the final Wigan were relegated back to the championship.

Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) On 31 October 2014, Al-Habsi signed for fellow Championship side Brighton & Hove Albion on a one-month loan. After playing only one game for the club, Al-Habsi returned to his parent club Wigan.

Reading Following his release from Wigan Athletic, Al-Habsi went on trial with Reading in July 2015. This ended in Al-Habsi signing a two-year contract with the club on 14 July 2015. On 5 January 2017, Al-Habsi extended his contract with Reading until the end of the 2018–19 season.

On 17 March 2017, Al-Habsi made several crucial saves in a 2–0 victory against playoff rivals Sheffield Wednesday. This performance and others throughout the season saw Al-Habsi named in the EFL Championship team of the season and awarded the Reading player of the season award.

Al-Hilal On 17 July 2017, Al-Habsi moved to Al-Hilal for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-year contract.

West Bromwich Albion On 29 August 2019, Al-Habsi moved to Championship side West Bromwich Albion on a free transfer, signing a deal until the end of the season with the West Midlands club. Al-Habsi was released by the club in June 2020 without having made an appearance for the club. West Brom manager Slaven Bilić stated that he had been keen to extend Al-Habsi's contract until the end of the delayed 2019–20 season, but this was not pursued as he had returned to his native Oman and would have to undertake a two-week quarantine period before rejoining the squad.

Retirement On 21 August 2020, Al-Habsi announced his retirement.

International career Al-Habsi began playing in his native country Oman at the age of seventeen, and joined the ranks of the Oman under-19s squad, before he was spotted by John Burridge in 2001. Due to the difficulty of securing a work permit, he was unable to move to Europe at this early stage of his career.

He was called up for Oman, and played in all of their three group matches at the 2004 AFC Asian Cup in China and also made four appearances for the team in their qualifying campaign for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, which they exited in the first group stage after finishing second in a group with Japan, India and Singapore. He was also Oman's first-choice goalkeeper at the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, appearing in all of their three group matches.

Al-Habsi also has appeared as main keeper in four consecutive Arabian Gulf Cups. In each tournament he earned the award for best goalkeeper, most recently at the 19th Arabian Gulf Cup. He kept a clean sheet throughout the 2009 tournament that Oman eventually won. He earned his 100th cap with Oman in a 0–4 loss to Australia in 2015 AFC Asian Cup.

On 5 January 2020, Al-Habsi announced his retirement from international football.

Personal life Al-Habsi is a practising Muslim and has said that his faith plays a big part in his life. He is married and has three daughters.

After finishing high school, he was a fireman in the Seeb International Airport in Muscat. In an interview with Al-Jazeera Sports, Al-Habsi accredited his previous profession with teaching him patience, hard work and patriotism. In another interview with AMF, he says that if he had not played professional football, he would have most likely continued with being a fireman.

Career statistics

Club Source: + Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals

2003 Tippeligaen

2004 Tippeligaen

2005 Tippeligaen

2005–06 Premier League

2006–07 Premier League

2007–08 Premier League

2008–09 Premier League

2009–10 Premier League

2010–11 Premier League

Wigan Athletic (loan) 2010–11 Premier League

2012–13 Premier League

2013–14 Championship

2014–15 Championship

2014–15 Championship

2016–17 Championship

2017–18

Honours Lyn Oslo Norwegian Football Cup runner-up: 2004

Wigan Athletic FA Cup: 2012–13

Al Hilal Saudi Pro League: 2017–18 Saudi Super Cup: 2018

Oman Arabian Gulf Cup: 2009; runner-up: 2004, 2007

Individual Best Goalkeeper of the Gulf Cup: 2003, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2011 Arab Goalkeeper of the Year: 2004 Norwegian Goalkeeper of the Year: 2004 Wigan Athletic Player of the Year: 2010–11 Nominated for the Best at Sport award at the British Muslim Awards: 2015 Reading FC Player of the Year: 2015–16, 2016–17