Ali Al-Bulaihi

Ali Hadi Mohammed Al-Bulaihi (Arabic: عَلِيّ هَادِي مُحَمَّد الْبُلَيْهِيّ; born 21 November 1989) is a Saudi who plays as a centre-back for Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal and the Saudi Arabia national team.^[4]

Ali Al-Bulaihi

Al-Bulaihi with Saudi Arabia at the 2023 AFC Asian Cup
Personal information
Full name	Ali Hadi Mohammed Al-Bulaihi[1]
Date of birth	(1989-11-21) 21 November 1989 (age 35)[2]
Place of birth	Najran, Saudi Arabia
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[3]
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Al Hilal
Number	5
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2011–2014	Al-Amal
2014–2015	Al-Nahda
2015–2017	Al-Fateh	47	(1)
2017–	Al Hilal	162	(17)
International career‡
2018–	Saudi Arabia	60	(2)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 17:44, 31 December 2024 (UTC)

Club career

Al-Bulaihi started his career at Al-Amal where he spent three years before joining Al-Nahda in 2014.^[5] On 23 July 2015, he joined Al-Fateh.^[6]

Al-Hilal

On 21 June 2017, Al-Hilal signed Al Bulaihi on a free transfer. He signed a three-year contract with the club.^[7]

In April 2024, in a derby match against rival team Al Nassr, he gathered some controversy after being elbowed by Cristiano Ronaldo after trying to intimidate him, resulting in a red card for Ronaldo and a yellow card for Al-Bulaihi.^[8]

International career

Al-Bulaihi with Saudi Arabia at the 2018 FIFA World Cup

In June 2018, Al-Bulaihi was named in Saudi Arabia's squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.^[9] He made his debut in the competition against Uruguay.^[10] In November 2022, he was called up for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.^[11] In the opening game, he played the whole match as his team defeated the eventual world champions Argentina 2–1.^[12]

In January 2024, he drew criticism for shoving and grabbing the hair of South Korean player Son Heung-min, unprovoked, during the 2023 AFC Asian Cup round of 16. Al-Bulaihi had previously similarly taunted Argentine player Lionel Messi by slapping him on the back.^[13][14]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 4 July 2025^[15]

Club	Season	League			King's Cup		Asia		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Al-Fateh	2015–16	Saudi Pro League	24	0	1	0	—		1[a]	0	26	0
	2016–17		23	1	2	0	6	0	2[a]	1	33	2
	Total		47	1	3	0	6	0	3	1	59	2
Al-Hilal	2017–18	Saudi Pro League	5	0	1	0	4[b]	0	—		10	0
	2018–19		25	3	0	0	6[b]	1	8[c]	0	39	4
	2019–20		14	2	6	0	11[b]	1	3[d]	0	34	3
	2020–21		16	2	0	0	6[b]	1	0	0	22	3
	2021–22		22	3	3	0	7[b]	0	3[e]	0	35	3
	2022–23		22	1	2	1	5[b]	0	4[f]	0	33	2
	2023–24		32	2	4	0	12[b]	1	8[g]	0	56	3
	2024–25		26	4	3	0	9[h]	1	2[d]	0	40	5
	Total		162	17	19	1	65	6	30	0	274	24
Career total			209	18	22	1	71	6	33	1	333	26

1. Appearance(s) in Saudi Crown Prince Cup
2. Appearances in AFC Champions League
3. Six appearances in Arab Club Champions Cup, one appearance in Saudi Super Cup, one appearance in Saudi-Egyptian Super Cup
4. Appearances in FIFA Club World Cup
5. One appearance in Saudi Super Cup, two appearances in FIFA Club World Cup
6. One appearance in Saudi Super Cup, three appearances in FIFA Club World Cup
7. Six appearances in Arab Club Champions Cup, two appearances in Saudi Super Cup
8. Appearances in AFC Champions League Elite

International

Statistics accurate as of match played 31 December 2024.^[16]

Saudi Arabia
Year	Apps	Goals
2018	11	0
2019	6	0
2020	2	0
2021	8	0
2022	13	0
2023	7	1
2024	13	1
Total	60	2

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	8 September 2023	St James' Park, Newcastle, England	Costa Rica	1–2	1–3	Friendly
2	16 January 2024	Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar	Oman	2–1	2–1	2023 AFC Asian Cup

Honours

Al Hilal

• Saudi Pro League: 2017–18, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2023–24
• Kings Cup: 2019–20, 2022–23, 2023–24
• Saudi Super Cup: 2018, 2021, 2023,^[17] 2024
• AFC Champions League: 2019, 2021

Individual

• AFC Asian Cup Team of the Tournament: 2023^[18]