The French newspaper L’Équipe reported that the offer Hervé Renard received from Ghana was a major factor in his dismissal from coaching the Saudi national team.
The French coach announced that he was informed of his dismissal on Friday, bringing an end to his second stint with the Green Falcons just two months before the start of the 2026 World Cup.
For the past two weeks, Renard had been linked to coaching the Ghanaian national team following the departure of coach Odo Otto, before the Black Stars decided to sign Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz.
According to the latest report, Ghana contacted Renard and tried to persuade him to accept the position, which greatly angered Saudi officials.
Although Renard closed the door on the matter and preferred to await the Saudi decision regarding his future, the Saudi Football Federation considered the very fact that he had approached them as evidence of the coach’s lack of focus on his job and that he was expecting to be dismissed sooner or later.
The negotiations with Ghana were seen as the final straw that confirmed to officials the necessity of ending Renard’s tenure if Saudi Arabia wanted a successful showing at the 2026 World Cup.
Following this, and given the lackluster results in the previous year, the decision was made to dismiss Renard and entrust the role to someone with a strong understanding of Saudi football. The position was ultimately filled by Giorgos Donis, the coach of Al-Khaleej.
