Al-Hilal club fired its Portuguese coach, Jorge Jesus, after a resounding 3-2 defeat to Al-Ahli in the AFC Champions League semi-finals at the Jewel Stadium.
Jesus took over as coach of Al-Hilal in the summer of 2023. In his first season, he achieved a domestic double and exited the Champions League in the semi-finals. He also enjoyed a full-year unbeaten domestic streak.
However, this season did not go as planned. Al-Hilal suffered numerous defeats, effectively losing the Saudi League title, and was eliminated from the King’s Cup by Al-Ittihad. The biggest setback came with the loss to Al-Ahli.
According to the newspaper “Al-Riyadhiyah,” Al-Hilal has permanently terminated its relationship with Jesus and agreed on all the details of the contract termination between the two parties, bringing his tenure at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium to an immediate end.
Mohammed Al-Shalhoub will take over as interim coach of Al-Hilal for the remaining matches of this season’s Saudi League, after which a “world-class coach” will be hired to lead the Blue Wave in the Club World Cup.
Saudi media reported that current Fulham coach Marco Silva is the favorite to succeed Jesus as coach of Al-Hilal. The club has also been linked with current Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, with the Italian reportedly offering €50 million annually.
