Jose Mourinho ideally wants to get back to work immediately and met several senior Saudi figures during his visit as part of a trip sources say was made for “due diligence and relationship building.”
The 61-year-old had a meet-and-greet with Newcastle and PIF chairman Yasser Al-Rumayyan.
He also discussed life in Saudi and a move to the Kingdom with Turki Al-Sheikh, who is the chairman of the Saudi Entertainment Authority and one of the most influential and best-connected sports executives in Saudi. Mourinho and Al-Sheikh are long-standing friends.
Mourinho was in contact with Saudi FA president Yasser Al-Misehal and sports minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal. The latter wants to involve him in the sports ventures that form part of Saudi’s Vision 2030.
Jose Mourinho will consider a move to the Saudi Pro League
Mourinho has said in the past he thinks he’ll work in Saudi one day and was the subject last summer of a £100m+ contract offer from Al-Hilal. He chose to stay at Roma, only to be replaced by Daniele De Rossi in January. This came as a shock to Mourinho, who is keen to get back into work as soon as possible.
“I don’t want to rest, I want to work,” said Mourinho. “It’s just that I don’t want to make the wrong decision. I have to wait for the right option, one that motivates me. But if I could work tomorrow, I would.”
Mourinho was approached by new Al-Shabab chairman Mohamad Al-Munajem but no agreement was reached to manage the club.
Jose Mourinho
And it’s understood centralised Saudi dealmakers want Mourinho to either manage one of the four PIF-controlled clubs or the Saudi national team.
Al-Hilal are not expected to make another offer because Jorge Jesus has them top of the league and still in the Asian Champions League.
But Al-Nassr manager Luis Castro’s job could come under threat if, as is now expected, they fail to win the league. Al-Nassr are 12 points adrift of leaders Al-Hilal as it stands.
Al-Nassr also went out of the Asian Champions League on Tuesday, losing to UAE-side Al-Ain on penalties in the quarter-finals. Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to input on any potential manager change ahead of the summer.
Al-Ittihad already replaced Nuno Espirito Santo with Marcelo Gallardo, with the former now at Nottingham Forest. Another imminent change for the current Saudi champions is not thought to be likely.
But Al-Ahli manager Matthias Jaissle is also not entirely safe. Following a big-spending summer that saw Riyad Mahrez and Bobby Firmino both arrive, the Jeddah-based club are only third in the Saudi Pro League and almost 20 points off the top.
Mourinho could also be considered as a replacement for Roberto Mancini, even though the Italian only joined in August, and on a long-term contract until 2027.
Saudi crashed out of the Asian Cup in the round of sixteen after a 4-2 penalty shootout loss to South Korea, and Mancini has a slightly tense relationship with local media since he’s not been afraid to replace established stars.
Jose Mourinho could reunite with Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr.
But it’s clear Mancini is thinking about the future, which might yet buy him considerable time even with Mourinho a free agent. Players like Salem Al-Dawsari, Salah Al-Shehri, Mohammed Al-Breik and Ali Ali-Bulaihi are all in their thirties and younger talent must be given opportunities with the 2034 World Cup in mind.
This ultimately means prioritising the development of under-21 players given the tournament is ten years away. But there’s also two World Cups before that, and Mancini is expected to get Saudi to at worst the knockout stage in 2026. First Saudi must qualify of course.
It’s not impossible that Mourinho is considered as a replacement for Mancini between now and 2026. It all depends how much patience the Saudi FA has with the Italian, but perhaps the Saudi FA are prepared to play the long game with Mourinho if needed. Their president Al-Misehal will take the final call.
Saudi have won both their second-stage qualification games as they look to reach for the inaugural expanded World Cup in America, Canada and Mexico, but their Asian Cup exit has not simply been brushed aside by key executives within the Saudi FA.
Mourinho won’t be short of offers, and at 61 could finally decide to try international management. Depending on how Gareth Southgate does at Euro 2024 he could also be in the frame for the England job, having admitted he was close to taking it in 2007 when Steve McClaren was sacked.
“I could have been the [England] coach,” he told FIVE. “I had it there on the table, but turned it down because I always viewed national team jobs as something I wouldn’t enjoy.”
A third return to Chelsea has also been spoken of for Mourinho, and would be a short-term PR win in many ways. But sources maintain Chelsea’s owners are still backing Mauricio Pochettino and planning to judge him at the end of the season. Plus, Mourinho is not necessarily viewed as a long-term solution or fit with Chelsea’s model.
With Mourinho a free agent, the expectation is Saudi dealmakers push pretty hard to see if they can find a role for him, and sooner rather than later. And if Mourinho is true to his word that he wants to work in Saudi one day then there is a realistic chance they succeed.
