Abdulmalik, 23, joined Boreham Wood in the summer of 2024 and made an immediate impact, before a breakout campaign last season saw the winger score 17 goals and provide ten assists in 54 competitive matches for the National League club.
Several clubs pursued the winger as a result, including Djurgarden, who were determined to sign the 23-year-old despite having two earlier bids, worth £750,000 and £1 million respectively, rejected during the summer transfer window.
The Swedish top-flight club eventually got the deal over the line, reportedly paying £1.7 million, a fee that required the attacking star to refuse to train for Boreham Wood, who play in England's fifth tier.
"The clubs negotiated back and forth. My closest circle and I said that if I get injured now, the move is off. And you might not get an opportunity like this again," Abdulmalik told Fotbollskanalen.
"It was a tough decision."
The situation attracted significant attention, with the player facing heavy criticism over his actions from supporters and pundits alike throughout the transfer saga this summer. Abdulmalik insists he did not take the decision lightly.
"I didn't want to skip training, because I like training and being with my now former team-mates. But I had to think about my career. 'If you get injured now, what happens then?' It was a tough decision," he told Fotbollskanalen.
Abdulmalik, who is a cousin of Torino midfielder Tino Anjorin, has signed a contract with Djurgarden running until the summer of 2029, in what was reported as a record sale for a National League club to a foreign side.