Ahead of the match against Al-Hilal, Al-Gharafa sign Algerian Ismaël Bennacer

Al-Gharafa have completed the signing of Algerian Ismaël Bennacer on a free transfer after his amicable departure from AC Milan last August, making him ready to feature against Al-Hilal.

Ben Nasser is set to make his debut for Al-Gharafa against Al-Hilal on Tuesday evening at the Kingdom Arena, in the opening round of the western zone of the AFC Champions League Elite 2026-2027.

Al-Gharafa are currently in 9th place in the Qatar Stars League with 4 points, having collected them from one win and one draw, alongside two defeats since the start of the season.

The 28-year-old Algerian player joined AC Milan in the summer of 2019 from FC Empoli for €16 million, and he won the Africa Cup of Nations that same year with the Algeria national team.

During his time with AC Milan, Bennacer played 178 official matches, including 137 in Serie A, and was one of the key players in Stefano Pioli's team that won the Serie A title in the 2021-2022 season.

The midfielder played 31 matches during the Serie A title-winning season before suffering a serious knee injury at the end of the 2022-2023 season, leading to a difficult phase in his career with the Lombard club.

Ismaël Bennacer returned to the pitch in December 2023, participating in 20 matches in the Serie A during the 2023-2024 season, but he started most of those matches from the bench.

The Algerian player had a loan spell with Olympique Marseille at the start of the second half of the 2024-2025 season before moving in the same manner to GNK Dinamo Zagreb during the 2025-2026 season.