Steven Gerrard is set to leave his role as head coach of Saudi Arabian club Al Ettifaq.
The 44-year-old had signed a new two-and-a-half-year deal at Al Ettifaq in January 2024 through to June 2027 but he has left after one win in four matches since the season resumed following the winter break.
Pressure on Gerrard’s position had increased earlier this season after October’s 3-1 defeat by second-division side Al Jabalain in the King’s Cup — the main cup competition in Saudi Arabia.
On Saturday, Al Ettifaq drew 2-2 with second-bottom Al Wehda, leaving them 12th in the Saudi Pro League and 24 points off leaders Al Hilal.
The former Rangers and Aston Villa managed had guided Al Ettifaq to a sixth-place finish in the 2023-24 campaign.
He joined the Saudi Pro League club in July 2023 but struggled for consistency, with 23 wins from his 59 matches in charge.
Gerrard began his coaching career in Liverpool’s youth teams before three and a half years as Rangers manager, where won the Scottish Premiership title in 2021.
He was appointed as Aston Villa manager in November 2021, replacing Dean Smith, but was dismissed 11 months later after winning just two of their opening 12 Premier League games of the 2022–23 season.
Additional reporting: Simon Hughes
‘Gerrard faces an uncertain future’
Analysis by Gregg Evans
This feels like another sad ending for Gerrard who has lost the momentum that made him one of the most exciting young English managers in the game not so long ago.
Leaving with Al-Ettifaq languishing in 12th position is far from a good look as so much was anticipated when he arrived.
Granted, there are mitigating circumstances, as the struggling side from Dammam are not one of the powerhouse clubs backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, so they cannot compete for the best players in the world.
Yet with Gerrard and his large background team in charge, there was hope he could pull together a group of players and at least get them punching above the weight.
For the 44-year-old, this also needed to be an experience that helped extinguish some of the bitter memories from the way it ended so painfully at Aston Villa.
One disappointing spell, albeit a very high-profile one, should not define a manager’s career, especially when Gerrard worked such wonders at Rangers before moving to the Premier League.
Yet with this disappointing period in Saudi now added to his CV, more questions will be raised about his managerial capabilities. Even with the tried and trusted assistant, Michael Beale, back alongside him for the final months of his tenure, results were still underwhelming and Gerrard now faces an uncertain future as he weighs up the next chapter in his career.
(Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)
