Rome (AFP) - The Italian Football Club Genoa on Wednesday signed former international Stephane El Shaarawy in a free transfer deal after the expiration of his contract with Roma last June, thus returning him to the club where he made his professional debut in 2008 when he was sixteen years old.
Published on: 09/02/2026 - 23:15
The club also announced its contract with Robinho Junior, the son of former Brazilian international Robinho.
Genoa said in a statement, “The Genoa Club announces the completion of the process of obtaining the sporting rights for Stephane El Shaarawy, who returns to his starting club wearing the red and blue shirt once again,” without revealing the duration of the contract.
El Shaarawy, 33 years old, began his career at the Genoa Academy and played his first match with them in the Italian League, before moving to Milan between 2011 and 2015, then French Monaco (2015-2016), and Roma in two periods between 2016 and 2019, then from 2021 until last June. He also had experience in China with Shanghai Shenhua between 2019. And 2021.
The Egyptian-origin striker, nicknamed “The Little Pharaoh,” scored 73 goals in the Italian League and 109 goals in various competitions during his career.
He also played 32 international matches, during which he scored 7 goals, and his last participation with the “Azzurri” was in June 2024.
El Shaarawy will meet in Genoa with his coach, Daniele De Rossi, his former colleague in Roma, who also previously coached him for a short period when he was coach of the capital club.
Genoa also signed Robinho Junior on loan with an option to buy. He is the son of former Brazilian star Robinho, who previously played for Real Madrid in Spain, Manchester City in England, and Milan.
Robinho Junior played 19 matches in the Brazilian League with Santos during the years 2025 and 2026, without being able to score any goal.
Last May, he found himself at the center of an incident that sparked widespread interest in Brazil, after his Santos teammate and Brazilian national team star Neymar slapped him after the latter did not accept being dribbled by the young player during one of the training sessions.
Neymar later quickly issued a public apology.
Genoa ranks sixteenth in the league after losing its first two matches this season, and will host Como on Friday in the opening of the third stage.
© 2026 AFP
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