The worst kept secret in football was confirmed on Sunday as Al-Hilal announced the appointment of Richard Hughes as their new sporting director.
The Scot’s long-awaited move to the Saudi Pro League has brought an end to a two-year stint at Liverpool, and was celebrated on social media by fans who blame him for the failings of both last season and the most recent transfer window.
That is quite the fall for a man who was being hailed by the same supporters just 12 months ago for having appointed Arne Slot, delivered a league title, then backed it up with a summer of unprecedented spending.
But this change in sentiment speaks to how, outside of results alone, difficult it is to fairly assess the work of sporting directors when they are so beholden to a crazy market, the limitations imposed by their owners, and of course luck.
In Hughes’ defence, he arrived at Anfield to take on the rather unattractive job of ushering the Reds into the post-Jurgen Klopp era, which comprised replacing a seemingly irreplaceable manager and dismantling his squad so that it might be futureproofed.
His first major decision was to essentially postpone the latter part of that remit for a year, and was followed by the astute call that Arne Slot could provide a degree of continuity in the dugout.
And in terms of vindication on both counts, it doesn’t get much better than the Premier League title win that followed.
But change could not be held off forever, so Hughes subsequently embarked on a remarkable summer that was overwhelmingly endorsed by supporters, even if many have attempted to distance themselves from that opinion since.
Unfortunately, it did not usher in the expected era of dominance, with Slot falling short in a job entirely different from the one he inherited, and the many expensive signings made failing to fire for various reasons.
Hughes has since overseen another big-spending summer (albeit less lavish than 2025) that many feel has left gaps in midfield and defence, ensuring he leaves with a less lofty reputation among fans than just a year prior.
Perhaps some of that ire could have been headed off had communication extended beyond a single press conference at the start of his reign, though that is hardly a unique case among Premier League executives.
Forging relationships with local journalists might also have helped, providing a platform through which decisions and strategy could be explained without necessarily conducting interviews.
Of course, that would have been easier had Hughes relocated to Merseyside, rather than remaining on the south coast for the most part.
Such arrangements never tend to go down well with fans, who want to feel that key figures at their club have bought into the area it represents.
Liverpool look to have learned that lesson with new head coach Andoni Iraola basing himself in Formby, a notable contrast to his predecessor Slot’s decision to live in Hale Barns in Greater Manchester.
Perhaps the next sporting director should follow that lead, and a sense that they viewed Liverpool as the pinnacle of the profession would not go amiss, either.
That never felt like the case with Hughes, who was linked with Al-Hilal for the entire second year of his three-year contract before eventually making the move.
Liverpool are confident that, despite speculation, he was not working for both clubs over the summer, and it is clear that would neither have been tolerated by Fenway Sports Group nor allowed by FIFA given rules relating to conflicts of interest.
