Jorge Jesus Former Al Hilal Coach Joins Al Nassr as Manager
Al Nassr has named former Al Hilal head coach Jorge Jesus as its new manager.
The Roshn Saudi League club announced Jesus’ appointment on Monday, and the Portuguese strategist signed a one-year contract.
Jesus has a long history with Al Nassr’s Riyadh opponents, having managed the club twice. Later, he led Al Hilal to a record-breaking 2023-24 RSL title and was later voted 2023-24 RSL Manager of the Season.
Al Hilal finished second in the table last term when Jesus left in May.
[Play & Win]Jesus, 70, will be seeking similar success at Al Nassr, who are chasing their first RSL title in seven years. Last season, they finished third after Stefano Pioli replaced Luis Castro in September. The Italian departed the club earlier this month.
Day one 🔛 pic.twitter.com/PqTVxHLAgL
— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) July 17, 2025
About Jorge Jesus
Jorge Fernando Pinheiro de Jesus (born July 24, 1954) is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who is currently the head coach at Saudi Pro League team Al-Nassr.
He began his career with Sporting CP and went on to play for 12 additional clubs throughout 17 years as a professional, including nine seasons in the Primeira Liga.
Jesus began his coaching career in 1990, and his first stop in the main category was with Felgueiras during the 1995-96 season. He went on to work for many teams before joining Benfica in 2009 and winning ten titles (a club record for a single manager, having won all domestic medals at least once), as well as reaching two UEFA Europa League finals in six seasons there.
Jesus was appointed manager of Flamengo in 2019 and won the Copa Libertadores and Campeonato Brasileiro Série A in his first year. He returned to Benfica in 2020 and failed to win a single trophy despite a Portuguese record expenditure during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2013 (eighth position) and 2019 (7th place), the International Federation of Football History & Statistics ranked him as one of the ten best club coaches in the world.
Jorge Jesus in the Saudi Pro League
On June 5, 2018, Jesus departed Portugal for the first time in his career to take over Saudi Arabian national champions Al Hilal. In his debut game, on August 17, he defeated Al-Ittihad 2-1 in London to win the Saudi Super Cup. Despite sixteen wins and only one defeat in twenty matches, he was fired by the chairman on January 26, 2019, due to contractual problems.
On July 1, 2023, Al Hilal announced Jesus’ reappointment as manager for the 2023-24 season. Prior to his hiring, he had been rumored as a candidate for Saudi Arabia’s vacant coaching role.
Al Hilal won a record 14th consecutive Saudi Pro League match on February 26, 2024, defeating Al-Ettifaq 2-0, surpassing rival Al-Nassr’s previous league record of 13 consecutive wins from November 2013 to February 2014. On 5 April, following a 4-1 victory over Al-Khaleej, Al Hilal set a new global record of 32 consecutive matches won by a men’s top-flight professional football club across all competitions, exceeding the previous record of 31 set by Irish club Belfast Celtic in 1948.
Record Setter
On May 24, Guinness World Records officials flew to Al Hilal Stadium to present Jesus with the certificate that officially established this record, which he received with the club’s president, Fahad Bin Saad Bin Nafel.
In his first full season with the club, Jesus led Al Hilal to three trophies: the 2023 Saudi Super Cup, beating Al-Ittihad 4-1 in the final; the 2023-24 King Cup, beating Al-Nassr in the final following a penalty shoot-out; and the 2023-24 Saudi Pro League, surpassing the 100-goal mark for the season and finishing with a record 96 points, 14 points ahead of their nearest rivals, Al Nassr.
On August 17, 2024, Jesus won the 2024 Saudi Super Cup again, defeating Al Nassr 4-1 in the final. On October 22, Jesus’ Al Hilal defeated reigning Asian champions Al Ain 5-4 in a match that featured Neymar’s return after being sidelined for more than a year with an injury. This was also Jesus’ 81st victory with Al Hilal, making him the club’s most successful coach in fewer than 100 matches (96 total).
Jesus left the club on May 3, 2025.
On July 14, 2025, Jesus became the head coach of fellow Saudi club Al Nassr by signing a one-year contract.