Al-Ittihad have finally drawn a line under one of the most turbulent chapters in their sporting structure. The club have terminated their contract with Spanish sporting adviser Ramon Planes, ending a stay of two years and nine months.
Saudi newspaper "Al-Riyadiah" reported that the Ittihad management struck a final financial settlement with Planes, paying him all his dues and officially closing the file on his contract. The same sources say his next destination will be the Mexican league, where he'll begin a fresh chapter.
The decision marked the final step in a sweeping restructuring the management launched at the start of last June. That was when they made the surprise call to strip Planes of the sporting director role, shifting him into a sporting adviser post with limited powers while handing his compatriot Frank Carbo the duties of sporting director.
Weeks of upheaval had paved the way for that move. Planes saw his executive powers completely frozen inside the walls of "the Dean" before the Saudi giants officially adopted the new structure.
Planes, 58, arrived in Jeddah in January 2024 from Spain's Real Betis to lead the sporting files of the first team, bringing with him a rich record of European experience at Barcelona and Real Betis.
Under the Spaniard, Al-Ittihad endured two seasons that could hardly have been more different in terms of results. In his first, he oversaw a structure crowned with a historic double, claiming the Saudi Roshn League and the King's Cup of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.
Then came the collapse. Last season the team finished fifth in the league, bowed out of the King's Cup and the Super Cup at the semi-final stage, and exited the AFC Champions League Elite in the quarter-finals. Those results accelerated the decision to restructure and turn the page on him.