Ex-Super Eagles and Chelsea man set to become Saudi Arabia’s director of football

Saudi Arabia pro league have turned their attention to former Chelsea man and Super Eagles star Michael Emenalo in their attempt to improve football in the country.

Saudi Pro League has made headlines in recent months after spending big to bring in players from Europe’s top leagues. 

Former Real Madrid man Cristiano Ronaldo kicked off the movement when he joined Al-Nassr from Manchester United. 

Since then, the likes of Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Ruben Neves, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Edouard Mendy have all moved to the Middle East country this summer. 

Saudi’s big spending does not look like ending anytime soon, but the league’s body is also focusing on football development in the country. 

As a result, the body is set to appoint Emenalo as the league’s Sporting Director. According to The Athletic, Emenalo is expected to use his experience and knowledge from his days in Europe to put in systems and frameworks that will make SPL among the best in the world. 

Emenalo, who represented Nigeria at the 1994 FIFA World Cup, is no stranger to this, having served as Technical Director with Chelsea and Monaco. 

The ex-Nigerian star was The Blues' director between 2011-2017, overseeing the club’s academies, both men and women. 

Emenalo was involved in the transfer that brought the likes of Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah to Chelsea. 

The former Notts County man left Chelsea in 2017 to take over at Monaco, where he spent two years as the club’s Sporting Director.