Al Ahli ‘Open Talks’ With Mourinho – Reports

Pitso Mosimane’s club Al Ahli have “opened talks” with former Real Madrid and Manchester United coach Jose Mourinho, according to reports.

Mourinho, a serial trophy winner in Europe, has taken AS Roma to back-to-back European finals, but lost this year’s UEFA Europa League final on penalties to Sevilla after winning the Conference League last campaign.

The 60-year-old still has a contract with Roma until June 2024 but was also recently linked with Paris Saint-Germain, who are understood to be on the hunt for a new manager, but Julian Nagelsmann now seems to the the frontrunner.

Meanwhile, reports in Saudi Arabia, cited by Yallakora, state that Al Ahli president Walid Moaz has met with Mourinho in London on Friday.

This comes after Al Ahli was one of four clubs alongside Al Ittihad, Al Hilal and Al Nassr, which are now controlled by the country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) that also own a 80% share in Premier League side Newcastle United.

The new ownership control is part of the country’s ‘Vision 2030’ project, which also involves attempting to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup, and will pump billions into the Saudi Pro League, in particular those four clubs.

As a consequence, Al Ahli have been linked with signings such as Sergio Ramos, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Sergio Busquets and Riyad Mahrez, while Al Ittihad already signed former Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema.

It is understood the club want a big-name coach to lead the club in the 2023/24, leaving Mosimane and his technical team on the fringes.

The South African tactician and his agent, Moira Thlagale have claimed that Mosimane’s deal had an one-year extension clause that got activated when he gained promotion – securing the return of the “sleeping giants” with four games to spare.

It remains to be seen what the future will hold for Mosimane – arguably Africa’s most successful active coach, with the club yet to make an official announcement on his future.