Mustafa Mohamed missing as Nantes boss admits: ‘We don’t know where he is’

French club Nantes are embroiled in a deepening stand-off with Egyptian striker Mustafa Mohamed, who has not attended a single training session since the squad returned for pre-season on 24 June and is refusing to play in Ligue 2 following the team’s relegation.

Head coach Michel Der Zakarian laid bare the scale of the row on Thursday, revealing that the club have effectively lost contact with the 28-year-old forward.

“We don’t know where he is. We call him and sometimes he doesn’t answer, it seems he doesn’t want to come to training, this is his fault and not ours. If he doesn’t want to come, he should stay at home,” Der Zakarian told reporters.

Club cuts pay as striker vanishes from training

According to club sources, Nantes are sending daily formal notifications to Mohamed informing him that his salary is being withheld as long as he remains absent without permission.

The former Zamalek and Galatasaray striker has effectively disappeared from the club environment, leaving no trace at the training ground or team activities, with his only public presence coming through posts on his Instagram account.

The situation has left Nantes without one of their most experienced attacking options just weeks before the new season in the French second tier.

Key forward refusing second-tier football

Mohamed, who joined Nantes four years ago and has scored 29 goals in 136 appearances for Les Canaris, is understood to be unwilling to drop into Ligue 2 after the club’s relegation last spring.

Considered one of the side’s most prominent players, he had previously harboured ambitions of helping Nantes qualify for European competitions. Instead, the club’s slide into the second division has coincided with his apparent refusal to return.

Despite his reputation at club level, Mohamed was not called up for Egypt’s most recent World Cup campaign, leaving his international future uncertain at a moment when his club situation is also in crisis.

Turbulence amid otherwise positive summer

The stand-off comes at a time when optimism had begun to return around the Beaujoire.

Many Nantes supporters had judged the club’s summer recruitment as solid and well targeted for a promotion push from Ligue 2. The return of Der Zakarian as head coach was also widely welcomed, and early indications on the pitch were encouraging: in their first pre-season friendly, Nantes swept aside Fleury 5-0.

However, the unresolved saga surrounding their Egyptian forward is now overshadowing preparations and is said to be causing “considerable frustration” inside the club hierarchy and dressing room.

Nantes have not publicly outlined their next steps should Mohamed continue to stay away, but the daily wage suspensions and Der Zakarian’s pointed remarks suggest a hardening stance.

With the new Ligue 2 campaign approaching and one of their leading forwards effectively absent without leave, the club face a delicate decision over whether to seek a transfer solution, pursue further disciplinary action, or attempt to rebuild the relationship if Mohamed finally returns.