Postecoglou appointed Al-Nassr head coach to manage Ronaldo

Al-Nassr appointed Ange Postecoglou as head coach on Friday on a two-year contract, putting the former Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest manager in charge of Cristiano Ronaldo in Riyadh. The club described the move as “A new chapter. Mr Ange Postecoglou appointed as head coach of the Al-Nassr first team. The contract spans two seasons.”

The hiring lands at a decisive moment for Al-Nassr, who won the 2025-26 Saudi Pro League title in May after Ronaldo scored twice in a 4-1 final-day victory over Damac. That championship was the club’s first league crown since 2018-19 and ended a seven-year wait for major domestic success.

Postecoglou returns to management after two bruising exits in England. Tottenham dismissed him in June 2025, 16 days after he beat Manchester United in the Europa League final and ended the club’s 17-year trophy drought. Spurs still finished 17th in the Premier League that season with 22 defeats and 38 points.

His next stop at Nottingham Forest lasted only 39 days. Forest failed to win any of his first eight matches, losing six, before the club cut the spell short in the 2025-26 campaign.

For Al-Nassr, the appointment signals another step in the Saudi league’s push beyond marquee signings and toward imported managerial credibility. Postecoglou arrives with a track record built on rapid, second-season success: league titles with Brisbane Roar, Yokohama F Marinos and Celtic, where he also won two Scottish Premiership crowns and a treble.

He had also been linked with the Scotland manager’s job after Steve Clarke stepped down, although wage demands were said to stand in the way. Al-Nassr instead moved for a coach whose profile has been shaped as much by silverware as by his ability to handle scrutiny.

That scrutiny will now be concentrated on Ronaldo, still the league’s most visible figure and the man who delivered the title-clinching brace against Damac. Sky Sports has identified Sadio Mane, Kingsley Coman and Joao Felix among the other high-profile names in the squad, giving Postecoglou a lineup built for expectation as much as for results. In that environment, his task is no longer only to win, but to make a star-heavy project look like a credible football institution.