Former Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard has become the latest coach to make the move to Saudi Arabia after he was named manager of Al-Ettifaq.

The 43-year-old has been out of action since Aston Villa released him in October.

Gerrard previously stated that he had declined an offer to move to the Gulf state, but he has now been enticed by the lucrative offer.

“Where legends are found. We’re thrilled to announce Steven Gerrard is our new head coach,” the club said in a post on Twitter.

Last season, Al-Ettifaq finished seventh out of sixteen clubs in the Saudi Pro League.

The Saudi Pro League, backed by the nation’s sovereign wealth fund, is luring superstars from the major European leagues with the promise of enormous salaries.

Marcelo Brozovic, a Croatian World Cup participant, has also moved to Saudi Arabia, his new club Al Nassr announced on Monday.

In June, the 30-year-old midfielder led Inter Milan in the Champions League final loss to Manchester City. He has made 87 appearances for Croatia.

January’s transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo to Al Nassr initiated the trend.

His former Real Madrid teammates Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante, the French World Cup champion, have recently joined Al-Ittihad.

Former Tottenham manager Nuno Espirito Santo and former Benfica player Jorge Jesus will travel to Saudi Arabia.

Since retiring from his illustrious playing career, Gerrard has had success as manager of Scottish giants Rangers, where he won the club’s only league championship in the previous 12 years in 2020/21.