Planes left as sporting director at Betis to take up a similar role with the big spending Saudis.
He explained to Marca: "I was doing very well at Betis, a very great club and fans. Sometimes opportunities appear... I had to think a lot, analyse everything. It was an important decision to leave a club as big as Betis and arrive in Saudi Arabia, a long-term project.
"It is a country project, to be one of the major leagues. There is a significant investment to attract people from Europe to join the project. When they chose me, I thought it was also a way for other colleagues."
Planes continued: "I found a country that surprised me, with a culture and enormous identification of its people. There is a country passionate about soccer, in which in many games there are 50,000 people in the stadiums, with a soccer culture that has been around for many years, with participation in the World Cups and with the desire to learn and grow.
"They want us to contribute our knowledge. I am delighted with how they have received me. I am happy to have arrived in Saudi Arabia and more specifically at Al Ittihad, one of the greats. I am happy with the decision made. We have the responsibility to do things very well."