Former Chelsea director to take first of its kind job in Saudi Arabia – The Saudi Pro League are set to appoint former Chelsea director Michael Emenalo as its first director of football.
The nation’s league has made a major push to bring in some of the biggest names across the globe which has snowballed since the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr last season.
Karim Benzema, Kalidou Koulibaly and Ruben Neves are just some of the players to make their way to the Gulf State.
And Steven Gerrard has arrived at Al Ettifaq as manager, though the Saudis are not done yet.
Former Chelsea director to take first of its kind job in Saudi Arabia
According to The Athletic, the Saudi Pro League are looking to bring in Emenalo as its first ever director of football.
He was appointed in a similar role at Chelsea, a position he held from 2011 to 2017.
The Nigerian was heavily involved in transfer activity at Stamford Bridge, where he aided in the signings of Kevin de Bruyne, Mohamed Salah, Eden Hazard and N’Golo Kante.
Not only was he influential over the men’s team, but also the women’s team and is one of the main reasons the academy is as famed as it is now.
Emenalo has also worked at Monaco as sporting director, a position he held for two years.
With such experience, the former Chelsea director is regarded as one of the best in his field.
In the Saudi Pro League, Emenalo is expected to bring a team of staff along with him.
He is expected to create a set-up that will see the Saudi Pro League expand even further and train up his colleagues in the role.
His tasks will also include developing a framework that the Saudi Pro League can work from, applying the same principles used in Europe’s big leagues.
Several clubs are making huge moves in the transfer window this summer, funded by the Saudi government.
The Public Investment Fund (PIF) all have major stakes in Al Hilal, Al Nassr, Al Sadd and Al Ittihad.
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