Steven Gerrard to take over as head coach of Saudi Pro League club Al Ettifaq

Former England international Steven Gerrard will be the new head coach of Saudi Pro League club Al Ettifaq, according to The Athletic.

It is his first job since leaving Aston Villa in October last year.

The 43-year-old has been linked with Saudi Arabia for weeks now, and he has finally accepted the offer from the Middle East.

Gerrard was previously in charge of Rangers for three years. He led them to the Scottish Premiership title in the 2020/21 season.

He joins a host of big names leaving Europe for the Gulf nation. Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Ruben Neves, Kadlidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy have moved to Saudi Arabia this summer.

Gerrard will join Al Ettifaq, based in the city of Dammam. 

Interestingly, Al Ettifaq is not among the four clubs under Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). 

Saudi Arabia’s sports ministry announced in June that PIF would take control of four teams in the Saudi Pro League as part of their Vision 2030 project.

PIF controls 75% of the shares in Al-Ittihad, Al-Ahli, Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr, with a non-profit organisation holding the other 25%.

Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo is still the most high-profile transfer to the Saudi Pro League.

He terminated his contract with Manchester United to join Al-Nass and helped them finish second last season.

Champions Al-Ittihad have reinforced their squad with Benzema and Kante. They will be looking to add another title under the guidance of former Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur manager Nuno Espirito Santo.

However, several household names have also rejected the move to Saudi Arabia including Jose Mourinho, Massimiliano Allegri, Neymar, Luka Modric, Romelu Lukaku and Lionel Messi.

Messi rejected a £400 million offer before joining Major League Soccer club Inter Miami.