Brendan Rodgers speaks for the first time since Celtic exit

Joining the Saudi Pro League club until the end of the 2027/2028 season, the Irishman has sat down with the club’s media department to discuss his move to the Middle East.

In a clip posted to the club’s social media, Rodgers detailed his reasons for swapping Europe for Asia regarding management, “When I first arrived (here), it made a real family feeling,” he said. “From the first time we arrived, all the staff and all the people have looked after us so well. It gave me a really, really positive feeling.

“ #AlQadsiah now has a really good reputation in the league, deemed as one of the best teams ”

Hear Brendan Rodgers speak for the first time 🎙️#BrendanQadsawi pic.twitter.com/L5uT8pixAK

— AlQadsiah Saudi Club (@AlQadsiahEN) December 17, 2025

“Clearly, what the Saudi Pro League has is top players and top coaches. I feel that when you study, and you look at the quality of the games, a lot of the games are of high quality. I’m really excited about working in the league against the top teams and some of these fantastic coaches that are already in this great league.

“There’s no doubt that season on season it (Saudi Pro League) is improving. There is clearly a top five league in European football and world football, and the Saudi Pro League is a league that, year on year, is improving and getting better, and obviously, it is attracting some fantastic players. I think it’s a really competitive league.

“It’s a real great challenge, and it’s a challenge I’m looking forward to.”

On his objectives as Michel’s replacement at Al-Qadsiah, Rodgers continued, “Over the course of my period and time here, we would love to win a trophy. That is something that we would really like to be able to do and be really competitive. That starts in our first game.

“We want to finish the season as high as we possibly can, but also playing our football, and the attacking football is obviously very important for us. We want to win, and we want to win in a real attacking style.

“I hope that they (the fans) can be excited by the football that we want to play. Support the team, encourage the team, and hopefully by the end of the season, we can build something really special and look to move into the future.”