Hughes steps down as Liverpool sporting director

Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes has stepped down and is set to join Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal.

Hughes had only been at the club since June 2024, after moving from a similar position at Bournemouth, and his exit had been expected with his contract set to expire in June 2027.

In the summer he oversaw transfer spending of about £200m, including the signing of Bradley Barcola from Paris St-Germain.

"I'll always follow and support the club with great affection, and I wish everyone involved nothing but success for this season and beyond," said Hughes in a statement released by Liverpool.

Hughes, 47, arrived at Anfield after the departure of long-time manager Jurgen Klopp and was instrumental in the appointment of his successor, Arne Slot, who led Liverpool to a 20th Premier League title in his first season as manager.

Hughes oversaw the £125m record signing of Alexander Isak last summer and the £116m arrival of Florian Wirtz.

But Slot was unable to match his initial success and Liverpool finished fifth last season, prompting the Dutch manager's departure and his replacement by Andoni Iraola, whom Hughes worked with at Bournemouth.

Mike Gordon, president of the Fenway Sports Group which owns Liverpool, said: "We respect Richard's life choices and wish him and his family well in their next venture."

Al-Hilal spent almost £180m signing Premier League players in the summer transfer window.

The 21-time Saudi champions signed Brazil winger Gabriel Martinelli from Arsenal for £60m and England striker Ollie Watkins from Aston Villa in a £51m deal.

Al-Hilal, who are managed by former Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi, also secured the services of Netherlands midfielder Cyrenscio Summerville from West Ham for £60m.

Analysis: Liverpool hunt fifth sporting director since 2022

It has been almost public knowledge over the last year that Hughes would be leaving for Al-Hilal and the announcement of his departure marks another moment of massive change at Anfield this summer.

Liverpool replaced Slot with Iraola at the end of last season before Michael Edwards, FSG's then CEO of football, resigned in July.

Last month FSG confirmed it sold a minority stake in the club to Amit Bhatia's 1892 Holdings - a consortium that includes Jeff Bezos - and now the club are on the hunt for their fifth sporting director since 2022.

Edwards left the role of sporting director in 2022 and was replaced by Julian Ward, who is now FSG's technical director. Ward was replaced in 2023 by Jorg Schmadtke before Hughes arrived in 2024.

After Klopp stepped down, Hughes oversaw the appointment of Slot, who helped Liverpool win their second Premier League title. For that, Hughes deserves credit - even if he was part of the decision to sack Slot.

But his legacy will perhaps only be fairly judged in the future, given he oversaw the appointment of Iraola and Liverpool's mega summer window in 2025 where Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak arrived for fees in excess of £100m and the club spent a then record £415m.

Hughes made the decision to leave earlier this year, informing the ownership of his desire to seek a fresh challenge.

This followed the decision of Edwards to step down in autumn - which was confirmed over the summer - and it was agreed that Hughes would remain in position until the end of the summer window.

His existing relationship with Iraola further underlined the logic of keeping him on through the summer.

Despite speculation that Hughes was already working for Al-Hilal, Liverpool are satisfied that an agreement for him to only work for Liverpool during this period was honoured.

Isak double at Ipswich earns Iraola first Liverpool win