Columbus, Ohio Superstar striker Cucho Hernandez was sold to La Liga team Real Betis in February 2025, leaving the Columbus Crew with a huge vacuum in their roster.
However, Issa Tall, the general manager of the crew, had known since December 2024 which forward he wanted to bring in next.
Wessam Abou Ali, a Palestine international, was presented to the media at Lower.com Field on Tuesday by the team as the guy they think can take up that top striker position.
Abou Ali was a major investment for the Crew, who paid roughly $7.5 million to acquire him from Al Ahly of the Egyptian Premier League.
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Among many other achievements, Al Ahly has been one of the most successful clubs in Africa, winning the Confederation of African Football Champions League in 2023–24 and the Egyptian Premier League titles in each of Abou Ali’s two seasons with the team.
Abou Ali was drawn to the Crew because of their previous success, which included winning the Leagues Cup in 2024 and the MLS Cup in 2020 and 2023.
I told her (Issa) that right away. I want to prevail. Abou Ali told reporters on Tuesday, “To be honest, I wouldn’t come to Columbus either if they hadn’t won some trophies in the last few years because that’s also what attracts you.” In the end, I don’t really care if we win or if I score three goals in a game. Therefore, it makes sense and aligns with both the club’s ideology and ethos as well as my own.
Abou Ali has large shoes to fill when he arrives in Columbus. When Cucho joined the team in June 2022, he became one of the most decorated players in the club’s history. He scored 58 goals in 94 games for the team in all competitions.
Additionally, Cucho reserved some of his most memorable moments for Columbus’s most important games. In the 2023 MLS Cup Final in Columbus, he scored on a penalty kick as the Crew defeated LAFC 2-1. In the 2024 Leagues Cup Final, Columbus won their second major championship in as many seasons thanks to two goals from Cucho, including the game-winning goal in stoppage time, in a 3-1 victory.
Abou Ali joins MLS as a major contributor on championship teams, which is wonderful news for the Crew. After joining Al Ahly in January 2024, he helped the team win the Egyptian Premier League by scoring 18 goals in 19 games. In the important second leg of the CAF Champions League semifinal against TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of the Congo that spring, he also scored a goal.
He scored 19 goals in 34 games for club and nation the next season in all competitions, including 10 in 16 Egyptian Premier League games to assist Al Ahly win the trophy again.
Additionally, he scored three goals for Al Ahly in a 4–4 draw against FC Porto, a Portuguese powerhouse, during the June Club World Cup in the United States.
Abou Ali is accustomed to success, and he wishes to instill that mindset in the Crew.
I’d like to take home awards. I came mostly for that purpose. For me, that’s the most crucial thing, Abou Ali told reporters. I’m going to give it my all if we still have a chance to win this year. Naturally, I also want to score some goals because I’m a personal man.
I want to score some significant goals, have individual success that ideally complements the team, and take the final step to help us win some games that will earn us trophies. It all comes down to consistently winning.
Abou Ali’s mindset not only attracted him to the Crew, but it should also help him blend in with his new team.
It is important, no doubt. Because they experienced the victory with the MLS Cup and Leagues Cup, you can witness it with our own players first. According to Tall, some of them, the MLS Next Pro, even understand what it’s like to lift a trophy. It’s true that having a player who has won major tournaments adds to the experience.
We are drawn to him because we know he strives for improvement and is a daily winner. He wants to win his 1v1 match, win the little side, and win at training. Asking nuanced things like, “Hey, what’s your mindset when you go at a player or when you go in the air vs. a goalkeeper?” is still relevant in December. And those responses truly supported our belief that he wins every day, which is further supported by the titles he has earned. Hopefully, he will continue to win here.
The Crew has struggled to regain the form they had with Cucho in the months since selling him to Real Betis for a reputed record club fee of $16 million plus add-ons. Despite having one game remaining against Nashville SC and Orlando City SC, who both have 47 points, they are currently in sixth position in the Eastern Conference with 45 points.
In terms of goal scoring, they have also been affected by Cucho’s absence.
With 72 goals in 34 games last season, the Crew trailed just Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami CF in MLS scoring. With 42 goals in 2025, they are equal for 13th place in the MLS with FC Cincinnati and the New York Red Bulls.
Diego Rossi is tied for 10th place in the league with 13 goals to lead the Crew this season. However, the only other Crew member with at least five goals this season is Jacen Russell-Rowe (seven).
Cucho led the Crew in assists with 12 last season in addition to being the team’s top goal scorer with 19.
The fact that the Crew has nine draws this season, compared to Atlanta United’s ten, is Columbus’ other issue. With just five losses this season, they are tied with Miami for the fewest in MLS. However, as the MLS season approaches its last weeks, the Crew is now behind Eastern Conference leader FC Cincinnati (52 points) due to those nine ties.
Despite those difficulties, Tall thinks they can compete for additional trophies with the signing of 26-year-old Abou Ali.
Tall told reporters, “We were really confident in the season we were going to have after seeing what we had back in preseason.” Indeed, we would have naturally hoped and desired for draws and defeats to be turned into victories. With players like Wessam and others, however, we are quite sure that we have what it takes to compete for a championship not just this year but in the years to come.
To get into match form and understand coach Wilfried Nancy’s system, Abou Ali, who hasn’t played since the Club World Cup in June, has already participated in a few team training sessions.
