Al Ain Football Club has announced the signing of a new professional contract with young Uruguayan goalkeeper Axel Amaral, which will run until 2030. This comes just six months after his contribution to the under-18 team's league title win. The club's scouts had identified the goalkeeper with his remarkable physical abilities several years ago before he officially joined the club in 2024. He stands 191 cm tall and weighs 79 kg. The club shared photos of the contract signing on its dedicated youth team account, an event attended by the club's Brazilian sporting director Rodrigo Mendes. This step reflects the club's confidence in the 15 November 2007-born goalkeeper's future and his rapid rise since arriving in the UAE. The career of the young Uruguayan goalkeeper Axel Amaral has been remarkable from the start. He won the 2021 regional championship with Cerro Largo's under-14 team before moving to Nacional's youth teams (second division) in 2022. There, he continued to develop and won the Uruguayan under-16 title in 2023. His transfer to Al Ain in 2024 marked another turning point. Last May, he helped the under-18 team secure the league title, and in June, he was called up to the Uruguayan under-18 national team for the new edition of the Cotif tournament. In a previous interview with the Uruguayan version of ESPN Deportes, Amaral spoke about his experience playing abroad, stating that the beginning was difficult due to being away from his family, but he is constantly working on adapting. He mentioned that he communicates with players of different nationalities in English and that the limited availability of stores selling mate and products from Argentina and Uruguay helps him feel closer to his original environment.
