Liverpool fans have become accustomed to seeing major exits from Anfield in recent years, and there’s now ‘expected’ to be another in the next few months.
In the past six weeks alone, Mo Salah, Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konate all played their final game for the Reds, who sacked Arne Slot shortly after the end of a woefully underachieving 2025/26 season.
Andoni Iraola was swiftly hired as the Dutchman’s replacement in the dugout, but a central figure in that process now appears likely to leave in the near future.
On Thursday, The Athletic reported that Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes is ‘expected’ to follow his ex-Bournemouth teammate Simon Francis to Al-Hilal, where the latter is set to take up the technical director role.
Hughes’ contract at Anfield has one year remaining, and he remains ‘fully focused’ on the Reds’ summer transfer business and supporting Iraola (who also worked with him at the Vitality Stadium) in the ongoing market.
The Saudi Pro League club are operating on the basis of the 47-year-old leaving Merseyside for Riyadh ‘in due course’, with no precise date specified for the proposed changeover, and there’s likely to be a period of transition which’d allow for the Scot’s successor (whoever that may be) to settle into the role in L4.
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This news probably won’t come as any great surprise to Liverpool fans, with reports in March indicating that an ‘agreement’ had been reached for Hughes to become the next sporting director of Al-Hilal, with a contract awaiting to be signed for the move to be made official.
Nonetheless, it isn’t an ideal development for the Reds – who’ve had three changes in that role in the past four years (Michael Edwards, Julian Ward, Jorg Schmadtke) – or for Iraola, who’d enjoyed a positive previous working relationship with the Scot at Bournemouth but mightn’t have a particularly long one with him at Anfield.
At least the move to Saudi Arabia isn’t immediate and there’s set to be a proper handover period to allow for the next appointment to get acquainted with the job before starting their tenure, with both LFC and Al-Hilal able to make plans accordingly.
Hughes’ reign as Liverpool sporting director has yielded mixed reviews. He did brilliantly to negotiate new contracts for Salah and Virgil van Dijk last year, whilst also overseeing a hugely ambitious summer transfer window at Anfield in 2025.
However, with the Reds’ on-field performances declining massively and a few of the new signings struggling to adapt despite lofty fees being paid for them, many Reds supporters have lost trust in the 47-year-old’s work.
Hopefully he can tip the scales towards a more positive balance in this summer’s transfer window, which now seems likely to be his last on Merseyside.
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