Jose Gomes will not be Al Ahly’s coach for the foreseeable future. The Portuguese coach clearly informed Al Ahly officials that he will not leave Al Fateh and will honor his contract with the Saudi club until the end of the current season.
Al Ahly is looking for a new coach to replace José Riveiro, who was dismissed a week ago. Gomes emerged as the top choice on Mahmoud El Khatib’s management table after his remarkable successes with Zamalek and Al Fateh last season.
According to the Saudi newspaper Al-Youm, Al Ahly has sent an official offer to Gomes to coach the team for the upcoming period. The Portuguese responded that the Egyptian club must negotiate with Al Fateh’s management, and that he will not leave without the Saudi club’s approval.
Al Fateh assured Al Ahly and any club interested in signing Gomes that they have no intention of letting the coach leave at this time, regardless of the offers available to him. This is something the Portuguese respects, and his clear response was that he will remain in the Roshen League.
Despite Gomez’s $900,000 release clause in his contract with Al-Fateh, the coach doesn’t want to leave this way. He prefers to leave with the club’s approval. He’s also happy in Saudi Arabia, so he sees no justification for leaving and moving to Al-Ahly.
Al-Ahly reportedly tried in the past few hours to sign another Portuguese, Sergio Conceicao, but the former AC Milan coach’s hefty salary, coupled with his refusal to coach in Africa, ended the deal.
Paulo Bento, the former UAE national team coach, remains the most likely candidate at the moment, although sources close to him have indicated that he also doesn’t want to take on this experience at this time. Thus, the identity of Riveiro’s successor at Al-Ahly remains unknown until further notice.
