The Egypt striker joined the Saudi champions on a six-month loan spell this week as he gets ready to face the new challenge with the Riyadh giants.

"I am not afraid to play before the Hilal fans in the strong Saudi league because I am used to that type of pressure with Ismaili," Ali told Saudi newspaper Al-Eqtisadiah.

"I hope to follow in the footsteps of Meteb who dazzled with Ittihad Jeddah and was a terrific ambassador to Egyptian footballers."

Ahli striker Meteb, who was out injured as Ali took his place in Egypt’s roster during the Nile Basin tournament, helped Ittihad win the league title in 2008-2009 by scoring 10 goals in his loan spell.

Objection

Meanwhile, Ismaili vice-chairman Hammad Moussa is far from satisfied with Ali’s temporary departure as he has some serious reservations over the short-term switch.

"I am totally against this move for several reasons," Moussa, the second man after Ismaili chairman Nasr Aboul-Hassan, told FilGoal.com.

"Initially, we said the offer is only accepted if Ali agrees to sign a two-year extension to his contract, but instead he signed for one year.

"Moreover, I learnt that Hilal have an option to extend the loan for another season.

"The value of his new Ismaili contract is also too high, which means we could be facing another problem similar to that of Hosni Abd-Rabou."

The financially-struggling Ismaili had to pay Egypt midfielder Abd-Rabou a fee of EGP 5million after he finished a two-season loan spell at UAE’s Ahli.

Finally, the Ismaili official warned that the Ali move could cause unrest inside the team, saying:"Many players will be asking to leave or will bring loan offers to resemble Ali."

Ismaili, who currently have seven players in the Egypt squad, are known for their reluctance to sell their star players, amid continuous interest from Ahli and Zamalek.