Former France coach Laurent Blanc has been appointed as the new manager of Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad.
Blanc has not been in charge since September 2023, leaving Lyon of his own accord with the club that were bottom of Ligue 1 at the time.
The 58-year-old replaces Argentine head coach Marcelo Gallardo, who left the club at the end of the 2023-24 season after failing to qualify for the AFC Champions League.
The Frenchman has previously managed Bordeaux, ยูฟ่าเบท the French national team, Paris Saint-Germain, Al Rayyan in Qatar and Lyon.
Blanc led Bordeaux to Ligue 1 title in 2008-09, ending a 10-year wait for a league title, while he won three trophies during his three years with PSG and guided France to the quarter-finals of Euro 2012.
During his playing career, Blanc spent time in France, Italy, Spain and England, playing for the likes of Montpellier, Barcelona, Manchester United, with whom he won the Premier League title in 2003, and Inter Milan.
Al Ittihad are nine-time Saudi Arabian league champions and won the last league title in 2022-23, but they finished fifth last season.
Al-Ittihad have not specified the length of Blanc’s contract.
He will be the club’s third coach in a year following Nuno Espirito Santo, who led the club to a ninth Saudi title in 2023, and Marcelo Gallardo.
Last season the club finished only fifth in the table, 42 points behind runaway champions Al-Hilal. They failed to qualify for the Asian Champions League.
Argentine Gallardo, who dropp the misfiring Benzema for a time, was fire in July after less than seven months in the job.