Roberto Mancini leaves role as Saudi Arabia manager

Former Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has reached a joint agreement with the Saudi Arabian Football Federation to end his contract as national team manager.

Mancini, 59, endured a difficult time as Saudi Arabia manager, a role he took on in August 2023 having left as Italy head coach weeks earlier.

On the eve of Saudi Arabia’s opening match at the Asian Cup in January, he said that three players had been dropped because they allegedly wanted to pick and choose which games to play.

Former captain Salman Al-Faraj, Sultan Al-Ghannam and goalkeeper Nawaf Al-Aqidi all strongly denied the claim.

During the Asian Cup Mancini walked down the tunnel before South Korea’s final penalty in a shootout that eliminated Saudi Arabia, saying: “I apologise for leaving early, I thought it had finished.”

Mancini’s regular complaint has been that home-grown forwards don’t play enough in the Saudi Pro League, that is populated by big signings from Europe’s top clubs.

Saudi Arabia have struggled in their 2026 World Cup qualifiers under Mancini, with surprise draws against low-ranked sides Bahrain and Indonesia.