The most powerful man in football is Nigerian

Michael Emenalo, the first sporting director of the Saudi Pro League, is quickly becoming one of the most important figures in world football as he seeks to revolutionise the sport in Saudi Arabia.

Michael Emenalo, the Saudi Pro League’s first sporting director, is quickly becoming one of the most important figures in world football and aims to revolutionise the sport in Saudi Arabia, Vlad Andrejevic reports.

After a distinguished career as a sporting director in Europe, most notably with Chelsea between 2011 and 2017, Emenalo was hired by the Saudi Pro League last year to help them develop the sport, both domestically and internationally.

Since his arrival, which coincided with a surge in investment in the league, many of the world’s top players have been recruited, with more expected to follow.

It was Al Nassr’s signing of five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo in January 2023 that put Saudi football in the spotlight and propelled its international exposure to much greater heights, giving them a platform and vision for the future. They quickly recognized the need for an experienced football operator to guide them through their ambitious project and help drive the evolution, hence the hiring of Emenalo.

The former left-back, who made 14 appearances for Nigeria, arrived in Saudi Arabia with a real pedigree.

After a moderately successful playing career, he moved to the United States, working at the Tucson Soccer Academy as director of player development. That role was short-lived, as he was brought to Chelsea in 2007 by manager Avram Grant, initially as chief opposition scout.

He quickly rose through the ranks, briefly working as an assistant coach before being appointed as the club’s technical director. It was there that he did his best work, restructuring key elements within the club, such as the academy, the women’s team and the scouting department. As part of this, he was credited with playing a major role in the signings of top players of the era, such as Juan Mata, Eden Hazard, N’golo Kanté and Cesc Fabregas.

After overseeing a great deal of success during that time, he stepped down in 2017 and took up the same position at AS Monaco, where he remained for two years before leaving by mutual consent. Emenalo remained in the industry, working in various advisory roles until his permanent move to Saudi Arabia last summer.

In an interview at the time of his appointment, Emenalo shared his belief that “this is a role I’ve spent the last 45 years of my life preparing for, and it wasn’t a difficult role or offer to accept. I’m intrigued by the boldness of the project.”

He went on to outline the main focus of the strategy he was called upon to facilitate. “The idea is to make this one of the best leagues in the world, and to do that, you want the best players. Right now, we’re casting our net as far as we can, to make sure we bring the best talent into the league.”

True to their word, Saudi Pro League clubs continued to acquire some of the biggest names in football in that transfer window. The kingdom’s Public Investment Fund bought a 75 percent stake in the league’s four biggest clubs, giving them unparalleled buying power.

Thus, Al Hilal’s net spend of £302.1m was the highest ever by a single club in world football that summer.

With global stars such as Karim Benzema, Neymar, Sadio Mane, Riyad Mahrez and many more making big-money moves to the Saudi Pro League, Emenalo has overseen what is probably the most dramatic league transition in modern football history, personally taking part in the negotiations for numerous players.

After the transfer window closed, Emenalo said in an interview with Sky Sports: “We look back with great satisfaction that we have put the league in a better position than before. We have been able to attract and incorporate some of the best players in the world.”

The success of the first generation of players has also prompted current European superstars to consider moving East.

Asked about the prospect of such a move, Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne recently said he was “open to anything”, acknowledging that it would be difficult not to consider the “incredible amount of money” potentially on offer.

His Belgium teammate Romelu Lukaku echoed this sentiment, explaining that he was initially “scared” by the idea, but now recognises that “the level will only increase to a much higher level than many people think”, even if “the infrastructure still needs to be improved”.

All elements of the sport, as part of Saudi Vision 2030, will undoubtedly see increased investment and improvement as the Saudi Pro League continues to work towards establishing itself as a leading internationally recognised football institution, with Emenalo set to further exert his growing influence.

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The most powerful man in football is Nigerian

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