Bafetimbi Gomis: RSL legend with a love for Saudi, goals and gahwa

Of all the imports to have plied their trade in the Roshn Saudi League, few have ingratiated themselves more to their club, and to the Kingdom, than Bafetimbi Gomis.

The Frenchman’s time at Al Hilal will forever be remembered for the goals – there were a lot – the trophies – quite a few – the celebration – his iconic “lion crawl” was mimicked across the country - and his assimilation to, and affinity for, life in Saudi Arabia.

Gomis, who this week announced his retirement from football at the age of 39, was a lover of both traditional Saudi attire and the Kingdom’s famed gahwa coffee. He was regularly seen sporting a thobe, and repeatedly attributed his prowess on the pitch – albeit jokingly - to the power of the local caffeine. But all in all, Gomis always displayed his affection for the country he called home for three-and-a-half years between 2018 and 2022.

It was on the pitch, though, that he became an everlasting hit. Arriving at Al Hilal in August 2018 from Turkiye’s Galatasaray, Gomis’ departed for the same club in January 2022 having put together an incredibly impressive roll of honour. He left not only an Al Hilal legend, but an RSL one too.

Gomis netted 116 times in 154 appearances across all competition for the Riyadh side, his 81 goals in the RSL enough to carry him to fifth on the league’s all-time list. He is a three-time league champion, collecting titles in 2019-2020, 2020-2021 and 2021-2022.

With that first RSL success came the 2019-20 King’s Cup also. With the second, Gomis finished the campaign as the league’s leading marksman, plundering an unparalleled 24 goals. Domestically, he added to his expanding trophy cabinet by capturing the 2021 Saudi Super Cup, weeks before he brought down the curtain on his time with Al Hilal.

However, Gomis’ greatest achievement there was undoubtedly the 2019 AFC Asian Champions League final. Already two-time winners of the continent’s premier club prize, Al Hilal had spent almost two decades attempting to land a third.

That agonising wait came to a joyful conclusion in November 2019, when Gomis struck the second of his side’s two goals in Saitama, Japan, as Al Hilal defeated hosts Urawa Red Diamonds 2-0 on the night and 3-0 on aggregate. Gomis ended the tournament as its top scorer, with 11 goals, and as its MVP – the award for best player.

On Monday, following the announcement of his retirement, Al Hilal released a video on social media that included footage of Gomis’ stirring pre-match speech in the dressing room before the final with Urawa.

“After 20 years, I will meet [teammates] Salem, Shalhoub, and all of you, then we will cry,” he declares. “Because we’ll remember this moment. This is our duty. You will change history.”

And that they did, with Gomis the team’s spearhead. Two years later, he would help Al Hilal add another continental crown, his six goals integral to the team becoming record four-time Asian champions.

Yet his impact was felt far beyond whatever competition he was invariably starring in. Gomis was a high-profile campaigner during the Covid-19 pandemic, imploring the people of Saudi Arabia to follow governmental advice, describing the battle against the coronavirus as like a “final”.

A few months later, Gomis joined a number of regional football stars, including Al Ahli’s Omar Al Somah, in adding their name to a charitable initiative aimed at giving back to the World Health Organisation’s Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund.

Even as his career has taken Gomis to Turkiye and then to Japan with Kawasaki Frontale, Al Hilal, and Saudi Arabia, have remained a constant in his life. Whenever the opportunity has arisen, he has returned to the Kingdom, and to the club that holds him dear to their hearts. That much is evident through Gomis’ interactions with former teammates, or Al Hilal staff.

His social media accounts, totalling two million followers on Instagram and 1.5m on "X", are awash with glowing nods to his time in Saudi. Last month, by then without a club and surely contemplating calling time on his decorated career, Gomis beamed down the lens as he received confirmation the current RSL champions had bestowed upon him a special recognition.

“I am deeply honoured and grateful to be a Gold Member of Al Hilal Football Club,” Gomis posted to his Instagram account. “This membership brings me pure happiness and immense pride. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to our dear President [Fahad Al Otaibi] and to the entire management of Al Hilal for this incredible recognition. Love you all, Your Saudi Lion.”

And that is how Gomis is remembered, revered even. As a player with a love for Saudi and a lion’s heart, on and off the pitch.