Al-Nasr, a competitor in the Saudi Professional Football League, announced today, Wednesday, the appointment of Frenchman Rudi Garcia as the new coach.
The former coach of Roma, Marseille, Lyon and Lille will replace Argentine Miguel Rosso, whose contract has expired.
Al Nasr finished the league in third place, six points behind the champion Al Hilal.
The club did not clarify the contract details, but local media reported that Garcia, 58, had agreed to lead the “global” for two seasons, for 8.5 million euros per season.
Musli Al Muammar, Chairman of the Al-Nasr Board of Directors, said on Twitter, “The first steps to prepare for the next season are contracting with the coach. It was long and arduous negotiations. Garcia will be in Riyadh next week to complete the preparations and study the team.”
Garcia led Lille to the French Ligue 1 title in the 2010-2011 season and won the best coach award in the league, then won the French Cup to complete the domestic double in the same season.
He helped Olympique Marseille reach the 2018 European League final before losing to Atletico Madrid.
He lost the French Cup final with Lyon on penalties to Paris Saint-Germain in 2020, and also had a distinguished period in the Italian League with Roma from 2013-2016.
Among the most famous players trained by Mohamed Salah and Francesco Totti in Rome and Eden Hazard in Lille.