The Egyptian league surprise package recently said they had accepted a $500,000 bid from Ahli for the inspirational player.

But they suddenly reversed their stance.

"We felt that Soliman's departure would have negative effects on the club's local campaign," a Petrojet source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told FilGoal.com on Wednesday.

"We are competing for the Egyptian Premier League title and want at least to finish second in order to participate in next season's CAF Champions League."

Holders Ahli leapfrogged Petrojet into the league's summit after defeating Harras Hodoud 1-0 on Monday.

Disheartened

"Soliman was disheartened by our refusal to grant him his wish of moving to Ahli Jeddah," the source said.

"He was going to earn a lot of money there but we failed to withstand the amount of criticism directed towards us for offloading one of our prized assets."

The 25-year-old has been in sparkling form this season, scoring five goals and providing numerous assists for his teammates.

Soliman's superb displays earned him a call-up to Egypt's squad.