Al Hilal have parted company with manager Jorge Jesus after their exit from the AFC Champions League Elite finals in Jeddah.
The Portuguese coach delivered a domestic double in emphatic fashion last season, when his side won 31 of 34 Saudi Pro League matches in an unbeaten campaign.
The Riyadh club have fallen short of those standards this time around, though. Their challenge on all fronts has unravelled in recent times, with a string of poor results as well as visible player unrest.
They have all but conceded their league title to Al Ittihad, who they now trail by six points with five games remaining, and are out of the cup, too.
They then crashed out of the continental competition on Tuesday night when they were outplayed by Jeddah side Al Ahli.
That 3-1 loss was characterised by a loss of discipline on and off the field, while Kaio Cesar, the Brazilian winger, was outwardly furious after being substituted nine minutes after coming on.
Jesus’s departure seemed a certainty from that point on, and it was confirmed on Friday night, with his assistant coach Mohammed Al Shalhoub taking temporary charge.
A permanent appointment is expected to be made before the Club World Cup in June, and there are some high-profile contenders for the position.
Jose Mourinho
Hilal have an enviable squad, but since Neymar left in the January transfer window after an ill-starred, injury-marred stay, they do not have a player of unquestionable global renown.
Maybe they will resolve that by placing a superstar in the technical area instead. There are still few more recognisable figures in the sport than Mourinho.
He might be a little greyer and a lot wiser now, but, at 62 years old, the Fenerbahce manager is still eight years Jesus’s junior.
Carlo Ancelotti
Jesus’s departure from Riyadh could yet work in his own favour. It means he is immediately available for Brazil.
The Selecao’s No1 choice is said to be Ancelotti, but the move has faced problems due to the terms of his departure from Real Madrid.
If Brazil tire of waiting, Jesus is said to be favoured for the role. And then if Ancelotti does subsequently leave Madrid, he could slot in at Hilal.
Xavi Hernandez
Like his one-time mentor Pep Guardiola has done in the past, Xavi is currently taking a year out of the game after a stressful stint managing Barcelona.
He will be ready to return this summer, and is not short of suitors. Among others, he has been linked with Roma and Manchester United in recent months.
Hilal has now emerged as a possibility, too. It does not seem the most obvious fit for someone who is European football royalty.
But the former Barcelona captain did have six years in the region as player then manager for Qatari side Al Sadd.
Nuno Espirito-Santo
The fingerprints of Jorge Mendes, the influential agent, are all over the Saudi project. He represents Hilal players Joao Cancelo and Ruben Neves, Daniel Podence at Al Shabab, and, of course, Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr.
It stands to reason he will try to place one of his clients in charge at Hilal next.
One such coach, Espirito-Santo, had a successful stint in Saudi either side of working in England’s Premier League. He delivered a first SPL title in 14 years for Jeddah’s Al Ittihad back in 2022.
Whether he would want to give up on all the fine work he has done at Nottingham Forest, though, is questionable.
Marco Silva
It seems odd to think that Silva, who once used to change clubs nearly as often as he changed his clothes, is now one of the Premier League’s longest serving managers.
He has done fine work establishing Fulham as a competitive outfit in England’s top division.
Despite another impressive campaign this time, they look likely to miss out on European football, which could be his cue to look elsewhere.
With Mendes as his agent, that might mean looking at a trip to the Saudi capital to work.
