Al Ahli reportedly part ways with Rui Pedro After loss to Al Hilal

Dubai: Al Ahli are undergoing a major change with the departure of several players and their two-time AFC Champions League Elite winning head coach. However, the exits didn't stop yet as another rumored firing has surfaced just days after the team's 3-0 loss to Al Hilal.

Al Ahli faced a lot of criticism over their transfer activity during the summer window. Many fans blamed the sporting director Rui Pedro for the underwhelming window. The series of unfortunate events led to the fans launching a strong campaign, asking for the Portuguese official to be dismissed.

The club may have heard the voice of the fans as several reports confirm that Pedro's contract has been terminated by the club. Saudi journalist Waleed Saeed along with Sacha Tavolieri reported the firing of the sporting director.

The report also suggests that the club discovered alleged corruption cases being managed by Pedro. One such example was the signing of Ukrainian midfielder Artem Bondarenko, who joined Al Ahli from Shaktar Donetsk. The player had reportedly requested for €1.3 million annually but an offer of €2.5 million was submitted without any given explanation.

Supporters turned against the sporting director as the club continued to lose big names like Riyad Mahrez and Frank Kessie while signing players like Baby Cabral who only played 114 minutes last season for AS Monaco. The Saudi club reportedly paid €12 million for the Senegalese-born player, while his market value was estimated at €1.2 million.

Fans weren't the only set of frustrated people in the club as senior players like Merih Demiral, Eduard Mendy and Ivan Toney also wanted the Portuguese out. Pedro joined Al Ahli last October after having worked on the same role with Benfica.

As the team is trying to settle down under the new coach Marino Pusic, Al-Malaki now have another challenge of finding a suitable sporting director.