Al-Nassr have confirmed the departure of coach Stefano Pioli, who is expected to join Fiorentina.
Pioli took over at the Riyadh club in September 2024 but despite having Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane and Jhon Duran at his disposal failed to land any major silverware.
It was the 59-year-old’s first job outside his native Italy but he is due to make a swift return with the Viola, where he played between 1989 and 1995 and coached from 2017 to 2019.
تعلن شركة نادي #النصر رسميًا إنهاء العلاقة التعاقدية مع مدرب الفريق الأول السيد ستيفانو بيولي.
مثمنين له ولطاقمه كافة الجهود التي بذلوها مع #النصر ، ومتمنين لهم التوفيق . pic.twitter.com/kwPxWuFcBu
— نادي النصر السعودي (@AlNassrFC) June 25, 2025
Pioli departs
An Al-Nassr statement this morning read: “Al-Nassr officially announces the termination of the contractual relationship with the first team coach, Mr. Stefano Pioli.
“We appreciate all the efforts made by him and his staff, and wish them success.”
Pioli won the Serie A title as boss of AC Milan before moving to Saudi Arabia. He was also named Serie A Coach of the Year.
Marc Brys could be the next man at the helm
It was reported last week that Belgian Marc Brys was in the frame to succeed Pioli at Al-Nassr.
The 63-year-old, who is currently in charge of the Cameroon national team, has previous experience of coaching in Saudi Arabia in a well-travelled career that has also seen him oversee teams in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Should Brys get the job, he will have Ronaldo at his disposal in the next Pro League season.
After being linked with Saudi rivals Al-Hilal, as well as a short-term move to one of the competing teams in the Club World Cup, Ronaldo has said he will remain with Al-Nassr next term.
He will hope to help the Riyadh club to their first major trophy since he joined in 2022 from Manchester United.
The 40-year-old has finished as the leading scorer in the Pro League in each of the past two seasons. In total he has scored 99 goals in 105 appearances for Al-Nassr.
Ronaldo finished the season on a high, scoring in a penalty shoot-out as Portugal won the Nations League by beating Spain in the final.
