Brendan Rodgers has completed his move to the Saudi Pro League, but it was the identity of the man greeting him on arrival that delivered the real headline.
The former Celtic manager has now teamed up with ex Rangers chief executive James Bisgrove, a partnership nobody would have predicted a year ago when the pair sat on opposite sides of the Glasgow divide.
Rodgers was pictured alongside Bisgrove after touching down to finalise his deal with Al Qadsiah. The image alone will turn heads in Scotland. Two figures who once represented the fiercest rivalry in the country are now aligned in ambition, tasked with driving a growing Saudi project backed by serious investment.
Bisgrove left Rangers midway through 2024 to take up a senior executive role within Saudi football’s expanding infrastructure. His remit focuses on modernising operations, improving commercial reach and bringing in high profile talent.
Rodgers fits that plan. Whatever anger lingers in Glasgow about his Celtic exit, his managerial pedigree is not in doubt. He arrives with trophies, European experience and a track record of building structured, possession based football teams.
He does not arrive alone. Rodgers has brought John Kennedy and Jack Lyons with him, the long term Celtic assistant and the highly rated analyst who both departed Parkhead under the same cloud two months ago.
Their exit coincided with Rodgers’ resignation and the ensuing public fallout between the manager and the club hierarchy. Celtic’s board criticised the communication around his departure and pointed to internal tensions. Kennedy and Lyons’ decision to follow him underlines where trust and loyalty remained strongest.
For Al Qadsiah, the appointment signals intent. For Rodgers, this is a reset after a turbulent end to his second Celtic stint. For Kennedy and Lyons, it is a chance to work again with a manager who values their expertise.
The more intriguing element is Bisgrove. A year or so ago he was shaping Rangers’ commercial future and signing off on strategies aimed at beating Rodgers’ Celtic side to domestic honours. Now the two operate on the same side, trying to push a Saudi club into a new competitive space.
Scottish football never stops throwing up storylines, even when the main characters leave the country.
