Former Nigerian defender Michael Emenalo, who was recently named Saudi Pro League’s new director of football, is excited about the project of the league.
After retiring from international football, Michael Emenalo became a global football icon when he served as Chelsea’s technical director from 2011 to 2017.
Before he left the Premier League club, Emenalo is credited for bringing in the right players that helped Chelsea’s Roman Abramovich era to become a huge success.
The 57-year-old Nigerian football administrator not only oversaw Chelsea’s recruitment, but he also helped in restructuring the club’s football academy and made it one of the most vibrant football academies in the world.
After he left Chelsea in 2017, he was named the sporting director at French side Monaco from 2017 to 2019.
Since then, he has been in and out of football until the Saudi Pro League appointed him the league’s first director of football.
Michael Emenalo’s role in the league is to lead a player acquisition center of excellence to provide a centralized approach to attracting more “world-class international players” to the league.
Aside from that, the retired Nigeria international is expected to help in what the league termed “squad mapping”.
After he was appointed the league’s sporting director, Michael Emenalo said. “I believe this is a role that I’ve spent the last 45 years preparing for.
“I am intrigued by the audacity of the project and the ambition.”
He added, “This project has been in the making for a while.
“It’s not a spur-of-the-moment decision, it’s well thought out. I’m impressed by the knowledge and input that’s gone into this.
“The Saudi Pro League offers a new opportunity first and foremost for the entire industry, and I think will create avenues for good competition and for more development of young talent.”
Suadi Arabia is currently the new mecca of football especially after Al Nassr succeeded in signing five-time Ballon d’Or winner, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo’s arrival in Saudi Arabia in January has attracted the likes of Karim Benzema, Marcelo Brozovic, N’Golo Kante, Ruben Neves, Edouard Mendy, and a host of others.
