LIVERPOOL sporting director Richard Hughes could quit for Saudi amid a brewing power battle at Anfield.
Hughes oversaw a £426million record summer splurge but questions remain about those signings from within the club — including £130m Alexander Isak.
Former Bournemouth chief and Portsmouth star Hughes is considering an Al-Hilal switch that would plunge Liverpool into further turmoil.
Hughes’ exit could have implications for Liverpool boss Arne Slot, who Hughes helped bring to the club at the same time he arrived two years ago.
Slot is under pressure going into Wednesday’s Champions League last-16 clash with Galatasaray. But SunSport understands he wanted another midfielder and defender in the summer.
Slot said yesterday hearing fans turn against him was “never a nice feeling”. But he added: “I’ve never felt I walked alone, not one minute since being here.”
Liverpool slumped to a 1-1 draw with relegation candidates Spurs at the weekend, handing Igor Tudor a life-saving first point as manager during his fifth game in charge.
Slot has a chance to save his own skin on Wednesday if he can turn around a 1-0 deficit in the second leg of the Reds’ Champions League last 16 tie against Galatasaray
But he could face a real threat of being sacked before the end of the season should his side tumble out of European competition.
Losing the man who helped bring him to the club, arrived alongside him, and publicly backed him last month, could leave Slot even more exposed to an early exit.
Hughes was appointed by the Reds at the end of the 2023/24 season after a decade as the Cherries’ sporting director.
If he heads to Al-Hilal he would join a project alongside manager and former Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi and reunite with Darwin Nunez, who he sold for £46million.
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Hughes was also behind the ill-fated summer spending spree that the club went on, splurging almost £450million on the likes of Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Jeremie Frimpong, among others.
And he would not be landing at a club that is afraid to splash the cash.
Al-Hilal have led the charge on ambitious transfer business from the middle east in recent years.
But the club’s obscene wages are the real shock, having paid Brazilian legend Neymar almost £130million per year during his time at the club.
They are also believed to be topping the £100million per year mark for new signing Karim Benzema.
The club also counts former Prem stars Ruben Neves and Kalidou Koulibaly among their biggest names.
