Benfica target to become Cristiano Ronaldo's new rival, says Romano | OneFootball

Sérgio Conceição is reportedly set to take over as head coach of Al Ittihad. According to information shared by Fabrizio Romano, the former Porto coach – who has been linked to Benfica in recent months – will be one of the major rivals of Al Nassr, where Cristiano Ronaldo and João Félix play.

"Al Ittihad has reached a verbal agreement with Sérgio Conceição. As exclusively revealed, the deal is progressing, and the contract duration, which is expected to be for the next two years, still needs to be defined. Conceição has already said yes to Al Ittihad," revealed Fabrizio Romano in a post on the social network X.

Al-Ittihad did not have a positive start to the season, which led to the dismissal of Laurent Blan. In the first eight matches of the 2025/26 season, the Saudi team recorded four defeats (two against Al Nassr), which influenced the decision of the management.

Now, with Sérgio Conceição at the helm, the main goal is to retain the National Championship title, which was won last season, as well as to triumph in the Asian Champions League, something that will be more challenging given the strong competition.

It should be noted that recently, Sérgio Conceição was involved in the Benfica elections, being used as an electoral trump card by Luís Filipe Vieira: "I have an agreement with my conscience. Period. I've known Sérgio for years, long before he became a coach. He is an excellent coach, likes to win, and knows how to get teams to play good football."

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.