• 43-year-old has been out of the game since being sacked by Aston Villa in October

RIYADH: Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is the latest star name to make the move to Saudi Arabia after signing a deal to become head coach of Al-Ettifaq.

The 43-year-old has been out of the game since being sacked by Aston Villa in October.

“Where legends are found. We’re thrilled to announce Steven Gerrard is our new head coach,” the club said in a post on Twitter.

Where legends are found ❤️💚

We’re thrilled to announce Steven Gerrard is our new head coach ✍️#GerrardEttifaqi pic.twitter.com/hgeHl1Djnu

— Ettifaq Club (@Ettifaq_EN) July 3, 2023

Al-Ettifaq finished seventh out of 16 clubs in the Saudi Pro League last season.

Gerrard joins other big names to move to the Kingdom after Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Al-Nassr in January started the trend.

His former Real Madrid teammate Karim Benzema and French World Cup winner N’Golo Kante of Chelsea have recently joined Al-Ittihad.

Former Tottenham manager Nuno Espirito Santo and ex-Benfica Jorge Jesus are among the coaches to head to Saudi.

Since retiring from a glittering playing career, Gerrard did have success during his spell in charge of Scottish giants Rangers, where he won the club’s only league title in the past 12 years in 2020/21.

AFP