Ex Nigerian international Michael Emenalo, Saudi Pro League’s first director of football, is fast becoming one of the most important figures in world football as he looks to revolutionise the sport in Saudi Arabia, reports Vlad Andrejevic.
Following a hugely accomplished career as a sporting director in Europe, most notably with Chelsea between 2011 and 2017, Emenalo was hired last year by the Saudi Pro League to help them develop the sport, both domestically and internationally.
Since his arrival, which coincided with bolstered investment into the league, several of the world’s highest profile players have been recruited, with many more seemingly on their way.
It was Al Nassr’s signing of five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo in January 2023 that put the spotlight on Saudi Arabian football and propelled its international exposure to far greater heights, giving them a platform and vision for the future. They quickly recognised the need for an experienced football operator to guide them through their ambitious project and help lead the evolution, hence the hiring of Emenalo.
The former left-back, who earned 14 caps for Nigeria, arrived in Saudi Arabia with real pedigree.
Following his moderately successful playing career, he instilled himself in the United States, working at the Tucson Soccer Academy as a director of player development. That role was short lived as he was soon brought to Chelsea in 2007 by manager Avram Grant, originally as chief opposition scout.
He quickly worked his way up, briefly working as an assistant manager before being appointed as the club’s technical director. It was there that he did his best work, first by restructuring key elements within the club such as the academy, women’s team and scouting department. Within that, he is accredited with having a major role in the signings of marquee players of that era such as Juan Mata, Eden Hazard, N’golo Kante and Cesc Fabregas.
Having overseen extensive success in that period, he resigned in 2017 and took up the same position at AS Monaco, where he stayed for two years before leaving by mutual consent. Emenalo remained in the industry, working in various consultancy roles up until his permanent move to Saudi Arabia last summer.
In an interview given at the time of his appointment, Emenalo shared his belief that “this is a role that I’ve spent the last 45 years of my life preparing for, and it was not a difficult role or offer to accept. I’m intrigued by the audacity of the project.”
He went on to outline the principal focus of the strategy he was brought in to facilitate. “The idea is to make this league one of the best in the world, and to do that, you want the best players. Right now, we’re throwing out our nets as wide and as far as they can go, to make sure that we bring the best talent in the league.”
True to his word, the Saudi Pro League clubs went on to acquire some of football’s biggest names in that transfer window. The kingdom’s Public Investment Fund purchased a 75 per cent stake in the league’s four biggest clubs, giving them unrivalled purchasing power.
As such, Al Hilal’s £302.1m net spend was the most by a single club in world football that summer.
With global stars such as Karim Benzema, Neymar, Sadio Mane, Riyad Mahrez and many more making big money moves to the Saudi Pro League, Emenalo oversaw possibly the most dramatic league transition in modern football history, including being personally being involved in multiple player negotiations.
Following the closure of the transfer window, Emenalo said in an interview with Sky Sports: “We look back with great satisfaction that we have put the league in a better place than it was previously. We have been able to attract and embed some of the best players in the world.”
The success of the first generation of players has prompted current European superstars to also consider relocating East.
When asked about the prospect of such a move, Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne recently responded that he was “open to everything”, recognising that it would be difficult not to consider the “incredible amount of money” potentially on offer.
His Belgium teammate Romelu Lukaku echoed that sentiment, explaining that he was originally “scared” of the idea, but now recognises that “the level will only increase to a much higher level than many people think”, even though “the infrastructure still needs to be improved.”
All elements of the sport, as part of the Saudi Vision 2030, will no doubt undergo increased investment and improvement as the Saudi Pro League continues to work towards establishing itself as an internationally recognised leading football institution, with Emenalo set to further exert his growing influence.
culled from Voice UK