Al-Ittihad Loan Unai Hernandez to Girona for La Liga Season

Al-Ittihad have reached an agreement with Girona to send Spanish midfielder Unai Hernandez to La Liga on loan, a move that underlines the Jeddah club’s determination to overhaul their squad before the new season.

According to Saudi newspaper Al-Riyadiah, the deal is for a season-long loan, with Girona securing an option to buy the 20-year-old at the end of the spell. The Catalan side will pay only a limited portion of his salary, with Al-Ittihad shouldering the rest after their board reviewed and approved the proposal.

It marks a sharp turn in Hernandez’s trajectory since his arrival in Saudi Arabia.

The midfielder joined Al-Ittihad from Barcelona in February 2025 on a three-year contract, billed as one of the “Doyen’s” promising pieces for the club’s next cycle. He initially showed flashes of that promise: 10 appearances, one goal, three assists. Then the minutes vanished.

Last season his involvement with Al-Ittihad collapsed to a single outing, against Al-Nassr in the Saudi Super Cup semi-final, before he was pushed out on loan to Al-Shabab for the second half of the campaign. There he featured regularly, racking up 31 matches, but his attacking return stalled — no goals and just one assist.

Now comes a different test.

Girona, one of La Liga’s most upwardly mobile projects, are betting that Hernandez can rediscover the sharpness that took him from Barcelona’s system to the Saudi Pro League. Al-Ittihad, for their part, clear space on the wage bill and keep a potential asset on their books, with the option for Girona to make the move permanent if he convinces in Spain.

For a player whose development briefly stalled in Jeddah, the next 12 months in Catalonia could decide whether he returns to Al-Ittihad as a key piece — or never comes back at all.