Ronaldo stays, Pioli leaves again! Riyadh wins the coach and Concesan is expected to take over

Qilu Evening News·Qilu One Point reporter Yin Chengjun

Pioli still went home. (Expand) Xinhua News Agency reported that

For the victory of Saudi giant Riyadh, the failure of the grain in the past two and a half years has made them extremely embarrassed. Not only can it not compete with Riyadh Crescent in the domestic league, but it cannot guarantee an advantage even against some other West Asian clubs. To this end, before the start of the new season, Riyadh made two major measures, one was to renew the contract with the team's pillar Ronaldo, and the other was to accept the resignation of current head coach Pioli.

Robert's contract renewal is expected. Since joining in January 2023, the Portuguese superstar has contributed 93 goals and 19 assists in 105 games. However, the goal cannot be exchanged for victory and championship. In the two and a half years since joining, Ronaldo has not brought a formal championship to Riyadh victory, and has only won a "consolation prize" for a friendly match, which is unacceptable to the arrogant Ronaldo.

Should I go or stay? In the end, Ronaldo decided to renew his contract after much consideration. It is reported that Riyadh victory issued a "1+1" contract for Ronaldo, which means that after the end of next year's World Cup, Ronaldo can choose to retire or renew his contract for one year based on his mood and actual condition. Such a generous contract is full of attention and cherishment for Ronaldo. As long as he is satisfied, the club is willing to give more.

But in terms of the head coach, Riyadh's victory did not touch Pioli's heart. In fact, Pioli's contract is very generous. After Louis Castro was dismissed in November last year, former AC Milan coach Pioli took over the board and signed a three-year contract with an annual salary of up to 12 million euros. Compared with Serie A, where the economy is in poor condition, it is already the "ceiling" for Pioli to get such a high salary.

But Pioli was homesick and didn't want to stay in Saudi Arabia. Fiorentina was a team he had played for both players and coaches. When "Purple Lily" threw an olive branch to him, nothing could stop him from going home.

However, there was a problem that delayed his return to China to coach Florence, and that was taxation. Pioli won the sixth season in Riyadh and earned half of the annual salary of the contract, which was 6 million euros. This is understandable. However, he must stay in Saudi Arabia for half a year before he can enjoy preferential tax treatment as a Saudi tax resident. If it is less than half a year, he will pay up to 45% of his personal income tax to Italy as an Italian working overseas, which means that 6 million euros will be cut directly to more than 3 million euros. Pioli couldn't accept it from the sky-high annual salary of 12 million euros set at the beginning, so he decided to leave for Italy after half a year on July 2.

Although Pioli has not left, Riyadh's winning coaching plan has been started. If there is no accident, another former AC Milan coach, Concesan, will take over in the future. However, Kong Seisan's advantage is that he is a fellow villager with Ronaldo and has also been a teammate of the national team. There is no problem with the communication between the two of them, and they can also play together in tactics and football concepts. After Ronaldo joined, Riyadh won four coaches, with the purpose of helping Ronaldo. Now, when fellow villagers meet, can they bring a championship trophy to their boss?