3 hours ago
Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal have identified Liverpool’s Richard Hughes as a leading contender to become their new sporting director.
Hughes, 46, was appointed by Fenway Sports Group, Liverpool’s U.S. owner, as the club’s sporting director in March 2024. His initial three-year contract runs until the end of the 2026-27 season but Al Hilal would ideally like him to start this summer.
The former Scotland midfielder was widely credited with playing a key role in Liverpool’s Premier League title win last season.
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Alongside FSG’s CEO of football, Michael Edwards, Hughes led the process which saw Arne Slot appointed as Jurgen Klopp’s successor in the summer of 2024. He also oversaw Liverpool’s £449million ($599m) spend in the 2025 summer transfer window, a record by a Premier League club, which saw Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez join.
This season, however, has been more of a struggle, with Liverpool failing to mount a defence of their Premier League title. They face Galatasaray on Wednesday night in the last 16 of the Champions League, trailing 1-0 from the first game in Istanbul.
Al Hilal have a long-standing interest in Hughes, with reports linking him to the job resurfacing in Saudi in January, and would be well placed to offer him a lucrative financial package.
They are one of four SPL clubs owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, and have signed a string of high-profile players, most recently the 2022 Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema in January.
Last summer, they dealt directly with Hughes in signing the Uruguay international striker Darwin Nunez from Liverpool in a deal worth €53m plus add-ons. They also launched an audacious bid to sign Mohamed Salah in the summer of 2024, but Liverpool blocked the deal.
Al Hilal are managed by the former Inter Milan head coach Simone Inzaghi and have won the Pro League title in four of the last six seasons. They are currently second in the table, three points behind Al Nassr.
Hughes has impressed – his exit would be notable
Analysis by Liverpool correspondent James Pearce
This season has been problematic for Liverpool but Hughes remains highly regarded by FSG, who won’t want to lose him.
When Edwards returned as FSG’s CEO of football two years ago, his first task was to appoint Hughes as sporting director. The Scotsman was already serving his notice period at Bournemouth.
The owners were impressed by how diligently Hughes led the search for Klopp’s successor and how he calmly dealt with the contract sagas he inherited surrounding Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold. While Salah and Van Dijk penned two-year extensions, Alexander-Arnold opted to leave for Real Madrid.
Hughes was responsible for reorganising departments at the club’s Kirkby training complex, where he’s a popular figure. His office on the first floor is next door to Slot’s and they have a close bond.
He also earned the owners’ huge respect for the leadership he showed in the aftermath of the tragic death of striker Diogo Jota last July.
Some of the big money signings from last summer haven’t fulfilled their potential yet but it was viewed as an investment in young talent for the long-term with Hughes getting the deals done that Liverpool’s data-led approach prioritised.
