Michael Emenalo has become the Saudi League’s first-ever director of football.
The highly-respected 57-year-old resigned after an impressive, six-year spell as Chelsea ’s Technical Director in 2017 before two years at French club Monaco.
His recruitment is a stunning statement of intent from the Saudis with Emenalo set to add organisation, strategy and gravitas as they look to grow their competition. It comes with yet another Premier League player targeted by one of the Middle Eastern clubs, this time Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Al Hilal's £25.4million bid for the Serbian has been rejected but they intend to return having already landed Ruben Neves and Kalidou Koulibaly from Wolves and Chelsea respectively.
Mitrovic scored 14 league goals last season to help Fulham finish in the top half of the table. His goals in the Championship played a key role in helping the west London club to return to the top flight on two occasions.
Cristiano Ronaldo was the first blockbuster arrival, signing for Al-Nassr at the start of 2022 with an aim of not only individual honours, but improving the standard of football nationwide.
Emenalo, meanwhile, is set to develop local talent in Saudi Arabia and bring in his own staff. He is credited with completely restructuring Chelsea’s academy, with the likes of Mason Mount and Reece James ending the long wait for home grown players to succeed John Terry.
In an interview following his departure in November 2017, Emenalo revealed the battles he faced to keep Chelsea’s academy at the forefront of the club’s plans. “I defended the academy when there was pressure and doubt and pessimism,” he told the Telegraph in 2019.
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He suggested that one manager had pushed for a downscaling of the academy, claiming that results were too long-term and that the investment would be better served elsewhere.
Emenalo added: “But that wasn’t my idea and I had to fight against it. This is where I am very, very proud of the owner Roman Abramovich because of the trust he had in me and the willingness to listen to me and give the academy time.
He would not abandon it. He believed in it and in me, and I can’t thank him enough for that.”
Emenalo was also the man who revamped Chelsea’s scouting, loan and women's team setups. He oversaw the scouting and recruitment of many of Chelsea’s most influential signings during his time at the club. They included Juan Mata, Thibaut Courtois, Kevin de Bruyne, Mohamed Salah, N’golo Kante and Eden Hazard.
