Al-Nassr appoints Ange Postecoglou as head coach on two-year deal

Two-year deal in Riyadh

Al-Nassr announced the signing on social media Friday. The club posted an image with the quote Postecoglou made when he joined Nottingham Forest last October. The deal ends a nine-month spell out of management for the 60-year-old Australian, who had been working as a pundit for ITV during the 2026 World Cup. He replaces Jorge Jesus, the Portuguese coach who stood down shortly after steering Al-Nassr to the Saudi Pro League title by two points in May, reportedly on a salary of £10 million per year.

A new chapter. Mr Ange Postecoglou appointed as head coach of the Al-Nassr first team. The contract spans two seasons. We wish him and his staff every success in their journey.

Rocky road through the Premier League

Postecoglou's reputation took a beating in England. At Tottenham Hotspur he delivered the Europa League trophy in 2025 (the club's first silverware in 17 years) but was sacked two weeks later after the side slumped to 17th place, recording 22 defeats, the most by any team not relegated in a 38-game Premier League season. A short-lived stint at Nottingham Forest followed: appointed on 9 September 2025, he was dismissed 39 days later on 18 October, having failed to win any of his eight matches. Forest's board reportedly fired him 20 minutes after the final whistle of his last game.

At all my previous clubs, it ends the same. With me and a trophy.

Taking over a champion squad

Postecoglou now manages a star-studded dressing room: Cristiano Ronaldo (976 senior goals), João Félix, Sadio Mané and Kingsley Coman. Ronaldo scored a penalty this week to help Portugal reach the World Cup last-16. Postecoglou's first match in the Al-Nassr dugout will be the King of Cup Champions Clash against Diriyah on 16 August. He had also been linked with the vacant Scotland national team job; bookmakers installed him as favourite after Steve Clarke stepped down, though media reports said his wage demands were too high for Kazakhstan.

A career of trophies

Before his ill-fated Premier League spell, Postecoglou built a winning résumé. He won two Scottish Premiership titles and a domestic treble with Celtic (2021–2023), the Japanese league championship with Yokohama F. Marinos, and Australian titles with Brisbane Roar. He managed the Australia national team from 2013 to 2017, leading the Socceroos to the 2014 World Cup and to the Asian Cup title in 2015. At Celtic, he was succeeded by Brendan Rodgers, who now coaches Al-Qadsiah in the same Saudi league.