Michael Beale

Michael Beale (born 4 September 1980) is an English football manager who is the manager of Belgian Pro League club Zulte Waregem. Beale began his coaching career in his twenties, spending 10 years coaching the Chelsea youth team, before spending six years at Liverpool. He left Liverpool to become assistant manager at São Paulo in late 2016, becoming the first Englishman to coach in the Brazilian top-flight. Beale then began working with Steven Gerrard as his first-team coach in 2018, firstly at Rangers in the Scottish Premiership, where they won the title in the 2020–21 season. He then moved to Aston Villa with Gerrard, this time as assistant manager. His first managerial role came at Queens Park Rangers, where he was appointed ahead of the 2022–23 EFL Championship season. After 16 games, with QPR top of the table, Beale rejected an approach from Wolverhampton Wanderers to manage in the Premier League. He instead returned to Rangers in November 2022, remaining in charge of the Scottish club until October 2023. Most recently, Beale returned to working with Gerrard as assistant manager of Al-Ettifaq in November 2024. He remained in the position until 2025, leaving the role to become executive consultant to the team's owners.