According to ‘Gazzetta dello Sport’, Al-Hilal have tempted Simone Inzaghi to coach the Saudi club at the same Club World Cup and meetings have already taken place with the Inter Milan coach, who is being offered a salary of around 20 million euros.
Saudi money continues to shake up European football and could turn it upside down in the days leading up to the Club World Cup. As the ‘Gazzetta dello Sport’ in Italy reports, Simone Inzaghi could swap Inter Milan for Al-Hilal.
At the beginning of May, Neymar's former club announced the sacking of Portuguese Jorge Jesus. Saudi Arabia's Mohammad Al-Shalhoub took over as interim coach, but they have been working since then to find a replacement for the new FIFA showpiece.
Simone Inzaghi has been chosen. Al-Hilal have reportedly put a salary of 20 million euros on the table for him, which has naturally aroused his interest. There is even talk of secret meetings with the coach's agents to move the matter forward.
Fahad Bin Saad Bin Nafel, president of the Riyadh-based club, was reportedly in Milan in mid-April. The aforementioned media report that he stayed at the Four Seasons Hotel in the Lombardy city and made contacts there, although Inter's competitive situation meant that total discretion had to be maintained. That is why this story has not come out until now.
There are only a few days to go before Inter play Napoli for the Scudetto, with whom they are one point behind in the table with one game to go, and they still have the Champions League final against PSG to play. If negotiations are successful, Al-Hilal's wish is for Inzaghi to be in Riyadh on 1 June to take charge of Al-Hilal.
For Inter it would be an absolute drama, as they are also taking part in the FIFA Club World Cup, which kicks off on 14 June. Their debut will be on the evening of 17 June against Monterrey, while Al-Hilal make their US debut on 18 June against Real Madrid.