Richard Hughes, the Liverpool sporting director who appointed Arne Slot and then oversaw his sacking, is expected to leave the club next summer and join Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal. His current contract expires next June, and Al Hilal – led by former Bournemouth technical director Simon Francis – is operating on the basis that Hughes will join. Francis replaced Hughes at Bournemouth when Fenway Sports Group hired him in 2024.
Hughes and Liverpool are focused solely on the current transfer window and the forthcoming season, the first under Andoni Iraola, who replaced Slot. Slot had won the Premier League in his debut campaign but was dismissed at the end of last season after a disappointing run.
“Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes is expected to leave next summer for Al Hilal, joining former Bournemouth colleague Simon Francis.”
Liverpool have already signed French defender Jeremy Jacquet, secured in January before Iraola's arrival, and Spanish winger Victor Munoz this summer. Midfielder Harvey Elliott is set to return from a loan spell at Aston Villa. The club continues to be linked with Paris St-Germain's Bradley Barcola, but is expected to miss out on Ivory Coast star Yan Diomande, who prefers a move to PSG.
Iraola and Hughes know each other well: Hughes recommended Iraola for the Bournemouth head coach role in 2023 when he was technical director there. Now Iraola is reshaping Liverpool's backroom staff. Tommy Elphick and Shaun Cooper have agreed deals to become first-team coaches, while Pablo de la Torre joins as an assistant coach – his fourth time working under Iraola at a different club. Tom Webber, who also worked with Iraola at Bournemouth, will arrive as first-team tactical coach after a decade in performance analysis at the Cherries.
Hughes' departure would mark the end of a brief but eventful tenure at Anfield, where he oversaw a title win and a swift managerial change, and now a rebuild under Iraola.