Richard Hughes, the Liverpool sporting director who appointed Arne Slot and watched him win a Premier League title before sacking him, is expected to leave Anfield next summer – with Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal poised to be his next destination. Hughes’s current contract expires in June 2027, and BBC Sport understands he is likely to team up again with former Bournemouth colleague Simon Francis, who now leads Al Hilal’s transfer activity after leaving the Cherries at the end of last season.
The move would reunite Hughes with Francis, who replaced him as Bournemouth’s technical director when Fenway Sports Group hired Hughes in 2024. Al Hilal and Francis are already operating on the basis that the 45-year-old will join them.
“Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes is expected to exit the club next summer to join Saudi side Al Hilal.”
Hughes’s departure, if confirmed, would come after a turbulent period at Liverpool. Having recruited Slot from Feyenoord in 2024 to succeed Jurgen Klopp, Hughes saw the Dutchman win the Premier League in his first campaign, only to sack him at the end of last season after a disappointing second year. Slot’s replacement, Andoni Iraola, now takes charge for his first full season – a manager Hughes knows well, having recommended Iraola for the Bournemouth job in 2023 when Hughes was technical director there.
This summer, Liverpool have already brought in French defender Jeremy Jacquet (whose signing was agreed in January, before Iraola arrived) and Spanish winger Victor Munoz. Midfielder Harvey Elliott is also due to return from a loan spell at Aston Villa. The club continue to be linked with Paris St-Germain’s Bradley Barcola, but their pursuit of Ivory Coast forward Yan Diomande looks set to fail as he prefers a move to PSG.
Iraola’s backroom staff is taking shape. Liverpool have officially agreed deals with Tommy Elphick and Shaun Cooper as first-team coaches, while Pablo de la Torre joins as an assistant – the fourth time he has worked under Iraola at a different club. Tom Webber, who worked with Iraola at Bournemouth, also arrives as first-team tactical coach after a decade in performance analysis there.
For now, Hughes and Liverpool are focused on the current transfer window and the season ahead. But the clock is already ticking on his Anfield tenure, with a move to the Saudi Pro League looking increasingly likely once his contract expires.