[4] Hafez continued to play for Lierse’s senior side and was one of their star performers, scoring three goals in the Jupiler Pro League but could not save his club from relegation.

[5] Because of his excellent individual play, he was called up to the Egyptian national team by their Argentine manager Héctor Cúper and made his debut for the Pharaohs in June, coming off the bench in a 2–1 friendly win against Malawi.

[5] Maged Sami, the owner of both Wadi Degla and Lierse, traveled to Athens to negotiate the transfer of Hafez to AEK Athens, and an agreement was expected to be reached over several days in which the 19-year-old Egypt left-back would join the eleven-time Greek champions on loan for a season, with the option to extend the loan for two additional seasons, according to Lierse announcement on their official website.

First, Wadi Degla sought the option of first choice if Hafez should be sold because of an offer by another club.

On 29 August 2018, Hafez was loaned by Wadi Degla to the Turkish club İstanbul Başakşehir for the season.