Press reports revealed that the Saudi Al-Ahli administration refused to approve the German Matthias Jaissle’s condition, the first-team coach, to pay his full salaries in the event of his dismissal in his new contract, which led to his submitting his resignation.
Many reports indicated that Matthias Jaissle has finalized all agreement details with English Newcastle United to lead the first team, succeeding English coach Eddie Howe, in the coming period.
The reason for the deterioration of Jaissle’s relationship with Saudi Al-Ahli
Al-Riyadiya newspaper pointed out that negotiations to renew Jaissle’s contract for four years until 2030 failed, after his insistence on his condition in the new contract, with his inclination to return to Europe.
The German coach agreed not to increase his annual salary with Jeddah Al-Ahli, but the administration did not accept his condition related to paying the full amount.
A final meeting had previously been held during the external training camp in Portugal in the presence of the executive committee and Portuguese sports director Rui Pedro, but the two parties did not reach an agreement.
After the Al-Raqi delegation returned to Saudi Arabia, Jaissle submitted his resignation and did not travel with the team to Jeddah, and therefore the club’s administration is studying several coaching options to succeed the German coach.
It is worth noting that the Al-Ahli club administration had renewed Jaissle’s contract in August 2025 for two seasons with the option to extend for an additional season, after he joined in the summer of 2023.
In a related context, Jaissle apologized in mid-July last for not accepting the club company administration’s offer to renew the contract until the end of the 2029 season.
The administration insisted that compensation in the event of contract termination before its expiry be limited to six months’ salaries only, to avoid bearing the full financial value of the new contract, which exceeds 150 million riyals, which Jaissle rejected.
Jaissle’s record with Jeddah Al-Ahli revealed
Matthias Jaissle, 38, oversaw the training of Saudi Al-Ahli in 138 matches, achieving 92 wins, 21 draws, and 25 losses in all competitions, and won with it the titles of the AFC Champions League Elite and the Saudi Super Cup.
Jaissle began his coaching career with the youth categories at German club RB Leipzig 2014–2017, then worked as an assistant coach at Danish Brøndby for two seasons.
Matthias took charge of the Red Bull Salzburg under-18 team, then Liefering in the Austrian second division, and finally the first team of Salzburg from 2021 until his move to Al-Ahli in 2023.
