Ange Postecoglou has been appointed as the new head coach of Saudi Pro League champions Al‑Nassr, signing a two‑year deal as the 60‑year‑old Australian looks to rebuild a career that unravelled spectacularly across two bruising Premier League campaigns.
“A new chapter. Mr Ange Postecoglou appointed as head coach of the Al‑Nassr first team. The contract spans two seasons,” the club said in a statement. “We wish him and his staff every success in their journey.”
The appointment, announced on 3 July 2026, sees Postecoglou succeed Jorge Jesus, who stepped down after leading Al‑Nassr to the Saudi title on the final day of May. He takes charge of a squad built around the Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo, who extended his own contract with the club until 2027 in a deal widely reported to be the most lucrative in sporting history.
Premier League struggles that defined a fall from grace
Postecoglou’s move to the Middle East comes after a period that began with dizzying highs at Tottenham Hotspur and ended with a 39‑day nightmare at Nottingham Forest. His spell in north London, which ran from 2023 to 2025, delivered the club’s first trophy in 17 years – a Europa League triumph in 2025 that also gave Spurs their first European honour since 1984. That success earned him a nomination for the FIFA World Coach of the Year award in 2023, and for a moment he appeared to have cemented his reputation as a serial winner.
Yet the euphoria was short‑lived. Tottenham finished 17th in the Premier League that same season, and Postecoglou was sacked just two weeks after the Europa League final. The collapse was so abrupt that it set the stage for an even more disastrous episode.
His next job, at Nottingham Forest in the 2025‑26 campaign, lasted only 40 days – or 39 days, depending on the reckoning – making him the shortest‑reigning manager in the club’s history. He went winless in his opening eight games in charge, suffering six defeats. Postecoglou later described the move as a “bad decision”, admitting it came “too soon after Tottenham”.
Those two failures stand in stark contrast to the trophy‑laden earlier chapters of his career. At Celtic, from 2021 to 2023, he won two Scottish Premiership titles, two Scottish League Cups and one Scottish Cup, completing a domestic treble in his final season. He was the first Australian manager to take charge of a major European club. Before that, he won two A‑League titles with Brisbane Roar – including a record 36‑match unbeaten run – and led Yokohama F. Marinos to their first J1 League crown in 15 years in 2019. With the Australia national team from 2013 to 2017, he won the 2015 AFC Asian Cup and qualified for the 2014 World Cup. His early career at South Melbourne yielded two National Soccer League titles and the Oceania Club Championship.
Following Steve Clarke’s resignation as Scotland manager after their World Cup exit, Postecoglou was linked with that vacancy, as well as with Kazakhstan, but media reports indicated his wage demands were too high for the Scottish FA and that he remained focused on elite club management.
Al‑Nassr’s galaxy of stars and record‑breaking wages
Postecoglou inherits an Al‑Nassr side that boasts a glittering roster beyond Ronaldo. The squad for the 2025‑26 season includes Sadio Mané, João Félix, Kingsley Coman, Marcelo Brozović, Iñigo Martínez and Mohammed Simakan, among others. His predecessor, Jorge Jesus, had signed only a one‑year contract for the season just completed; he led Al‑Nassr to the title on the final day, edging rivals Al‑Hilal, and had previously managed Al‑Hilal, where he was named 2023‑24 RSL Manager of the Season. Reports suggested Jesus’s renewal was conditional on Ronaldo staying – a condition that has now been met.
Ronaldo’s extended deal, which runs to 2027, is reported to earn him approximately $245 million per year (€185 million), or around £3.42 million per week. He received a signing bonus of $33.71 million, potentially rising to $52.28 million if the second year is triggered, with other sources putting the figures at £24.5 million and £38 million. Performance‑related bonuses include $5.5 million for winning the Golden Boot, $11 million for a league title, and $8.94 million for qualifying for and winning the AFC Champions League. He also earns $110,000 per goal and $55,000 per assist, with a 20 per cent increase in the second year. Beyond salary and bonuses, Ronaldo holds a 15 per cent ownership stake in Al‑Nassr, valued at around $45.4 million or £33 million. His perks include 16 full‑time household staff, a private jet allocated $5.5 million for transport, and a potential ambassadorial role that could lift his total earnings to more than £492 million over two years. Saudi Arabia’s absence of income tax means he retains substantially more of his income than he would in European leagues.
Postecoglou, whose attacking philosophy is widely known as “Angeball”, has a track record of winning trophies in his second season at a club – a pattern he will hope to replicate in Riyadh as he attempts to rebuild a reputation that was battered but not broken by his time in English football.
