Burnley’s chief of staff Marc Boixasa is leaving the club to take up a key role with Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal.

Boixasa is being recruited by Esteve Calzada, Al Hilal’s new CEO, who he worked alongside when both were at Manchester City, with the former joining as the club’s chief football business and performance officer.

Boixasa spent 10 years working for the City Football Group, with six of them coming as part of Manchester City’s first-team unit since the arrival of Pep Guardiola in 2016. He joined Burnley in 2022.

Calzada is attempting to replicate City’s model at Al Hilal, with Boixasa earmarked to play a similar role to that of Omar Berrada — who is leaving City this year to become the new CEO of Manchester United — and his relationship with director of football Txiki Begiristain at City.

Al Hilal believe Boixasa can use his executive background to help bolster the club’s sporting department, which is headed by sporting director Fahad AlMofarej.

Al Hilal are top of the Saudi Pro League, 12 points clear of second-placed Al Nassr.

The Riyadh-based club, who have won 28 matches in a row, have a star-studded squad which includes last summer’s arrivals Neymar, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Renan Lodi, Kalidou Koulibaly, Malcom, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Ruben Neves, and are also still in the Asian Champions League.

Al Hilal defeated their Saudi rivals Al Ittihad — who won last year’s league title but are currently fourth in the standings, 25 points off the top of the league — in both legs of their quarter-final tie to advance to the last four.

(Michael Regan/Getty Images)