Former Manchester United sporting director is set to link up with Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr, according to reports.
Ashworth was prised away from Newcastle United after protracted negotiations and was a flagship acquisition for Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS as they looked to revitalise the off-field operation at United.
He was the club’s first-ever director of football and everyone was very excited given his track record at Brighton and Hove Albion and Newcastle earlier.
But he lasted just five months at Old Trafford – the same amount of time that he spent on gardening leave after departing St James’ Park.
He returned to his garden since abruptly parting ways with the Red Devils in December, before taking up a role with Warwickshire County Cricket Club, but now seems set for a move to Saudi Arabia.
According to journalist Gianluigi Longari, the 54-year-old is in talks to become the new sporting director at Al-Nassr, the club best known for bringing Ronaldo to the Saudi Pro League.
Since then, they have added Sadio Mané and Jhon Durán to an impressive frontline, and it would be fascinating to see what Ashworth’s appointment would mean for their recruitment.
🇸🇦 🚨 Dan #Ashworth ex direttore di Newcastle #Nufc e Manchester United #Mufc è in trattativa per diventare il nuovo direttore sportivo dell’Al Nassr.
— Gianluigi Longari (@Glongari) March 19, 2025
There is still some mystery around his departure from United, which the club said was by “mutual agreement”.
The unceremonious parting of ways came in the immediate aftermath of United’s 2-3 defeat to Nottingham Forest.
His Old Trafford exit was slammed as an embarrassment for the club in an already disappointing season, and Ratcliffe has admitted appointing him was a mistake.
It is thought that Ashworth wasn’t entirely keen on the appointment of Ruben Amorim after Erik ten Hag was sacked.
It is unclear how much of a say he had in United’s summer transfer business, which saw stars like Matthijs de Ligt, Manuel Ugarte and Leny Yoro arrive at the club.
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Joe Ponting
Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried.
