Simon Francis has joined Al Hilal and is starring the club’s transportation activity, with Liverpool sporting manager Richard Hughes expected to travel his erstwhile workfellow to the Saudi Pro League side.
Hughes, whose Liverpool declaration runs done to June 2027, is afloat focused connected Liverpool’s summertime transportation concern and supporting the club’s caller caput manager Andoni Iraola passim the existent market.
Hughes’s contractual concern means this would people beryllium his past transportation model astatine the nine earlier a play of modulation which would let a successor to settee into the relation astatine Anfield.
Francis and Al Hilal are presently operating connected the ground of Hughes arriving astatine the Riyadh-based nine successful owed course.
The Athletic reported on March 18 that the 47-year-old had been identified by Al Hilal with a presumption to him joining the nine this summer, but Hughes has yet to enactment pen to insubstantial connected immoderate deal.
Francis — who replaced Hughes arsenic Bournemouth’s method director pursuing the erstwhile Scotland planetary midfielder’s determination to Anfield —has near the south-coast nine to instrumentality up a akin relation astatine Al Hilal.
Francis and Hughes were team-mates astatine Bournemouth during their playing careers and were colleagues successful the club’s method department.
Hughes was appointed by Fenway Sports Group (FSG), Liverpool’s U.S. owner, in March 2024 connected a declaration done to the summertime of 2027.
Alongside Michael Edwards, FSG’s CEO of football, helium led the process which appointed Arne Slot arsenic caput manager successful 2024 and oversaw Liverpool’s £449million ($599m) walk successful the 2025 summertime transportation window.
Last month, Saudi’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) sold a 70 per cent involvement successful Al Hilal to Kingdom Holding Company, the steadfast tally by Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, the billionaire businessman and subordinate of the Saudi royal family.
The woody valued the nine astatine SAR1.4billion (£276million; $373m).
Al Hilal are managed by the erstwhile Inter caput manager Simone Inzaghi, with Karim Benzema, Darwin Nunez, Ruben Neves and Kalidou Koulibaly among their astir decorated players.
They were 1 of 4 clubs bought by PIF, the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealthiness fund, successful 2023, alongside section rivals Al Nassr, Al Ahli and Al Ittihad.
English (US) ·