Lyonnais. In December of that year, he revealed that he wanted to stay at Ajax. He scored for Ajax during their 6–0 defeat of Willem II in February 2003, but Koeman again criticised Mido, commenting negatively on his performance against Roda in the KNVB Cup. He was dropped for Ajax's next game against Feyenoord, only featuring as an unused substitute. He suffered a muscle strain in his upper thigh after a friendly for Egypt, and was ruled out of Ajax's game against Groningen. Mido was relegated to the Ajax reserve team for disciplinary reasons, surrounding a perceived lack of effort in training. His situation at the club led to interest from Serie A clubs Juventus and Lazio and he later admitted to have thrown a pair of scissors at Ajax teammate Zlatan Ibrahimović following an argument in March 2003. Loan to Celta Vigo Celta Vigo made a loan offer for Mido in March, which was reported to have fallen through days later as it was not approved by FIFA. However, FIFA eventually allowed the move to go through and it was completed on 18 March. He scored on his Celta Vigo debut against Athletic Bilbao, which Celta won 2–1. Ajax valued Mido between the values of €5 million and €6 million, amidst interest from clubs in Italy and Spain. Newcastle United were reportedly on the verge of making a bid for Mido in May, but this was ruled out by Mido's agent Christophe Henrotay. Ajax attempted to make him return to the club, but he declined this, in favour of staying at Celta. He suffered a muscle injury whilst training in May, but was available to play in Celta's match against Villarreal CF, which saw Mido sent off in a game which Celta lost 5–0. Mido was linked with a move to A.S. Roma in late May, with Roma chairman Franco Sensi stating "I want Mido", but Ajax revealed they wanted €15 million for him. Ajax turned down a loan move from Real Betis for Mido in June. Marseille were then believed to have made an offer for the striker and Celta were not ready to meet Ajax's asking price of €15 million. Marseille Ajax accepted a €12 million bid for Mido from Marseille in July, and completed the move on a five-year contract on 12 July 2003, which made Mido the most expensive Egyptian player ever. He made his