Meteb was on the brink on moving to Bristol City but the deal was cancelled by the Championship side.

The Ahli man agreed a one-year loan move to Ittihad and believes Saudi Arabia can be his passage to Europe.

"The Saudi League is competitive and strong," he told Ahli's website.

"It generated several good players for the Saudi national team and attracted big names, who passed their experience to the rest of the players.

"I believe that Saudi Arabia could be my gate to Europe."

The deal cost Ittihad $1.5m, with Meteb earning $900.000.

British paper the News of the World reported earlier this week that Everton were interested in Meteb, but the player's agent said the Premiership side didn't bid for him.