Twice he won the Premier League. Once he lifted the AFCON. The English press still describes him as a luxury.
This is the consistent line on Mahrez throughout his career. Talented but inconsistent. Capable of brilliance but unreliable. A player who frustrates as often as he dazzles. The implication is always the same: he is not quite serious.
Watch his goals. Watch his assists. Watch his decisive moments in big matches. The record does not support the framing. Mahrez delivered for Leicester when nobody believed in Leicester. He delivered for City when City needed wingers who could win games in tight spaces. He delivered for Algeria when an entire region needed someone to deliver.
The framing persists because the player does not fit the English template for what a top winger looks like. He is not a sprinter. He does not press like a maniac. He is patient with the ball, almost languid, and English football has a problem with patience that looks like nonchalance.
In another country, with another media culture, his style would be called artistry. In England it gets called inconsistency. The same trait, two different verdicts.
Mahrez is at Al-Ahli now. The Premier League gets to be relieved that it no longer has to evaluate him. He gets to be appreciated for what he actually does, in front of crowds who do not need him to look like Sterling to count him.