Nuno Espirito Santo has become the first Premier League manager sacked this season after being relieved of his duties on Monday.
Speculation over the Portuguese’s future has been rife for weeks and things intensified late on Monday night, with reports in his homeland claiming his fate.
And at 12.15am on Tuesday morning, Forest confirmed he has been dismissed with a short statement on social media.
Nottingham Forest statement on Nuno Espirito Santo sacking
‘Nottingham Forest Football Club confirms that, following recent circumstances, Nuno Espirito Santo has today been relieved of his duties as head coach,’ their statement read.
‘The club thanks Nuno for his contribution during a very successful era at The City Ground, in particular his role in the 2024-25 season, which will forever be remembered fondly in the history of the club.
‘As someone who played a pivotal role in our success last season, he will always hold a special place in our journey.’
Writing has been on the wall with Nuno Espirito Santo
Nuno’s tenure at the City Ground had been in doubt after his public comments about his relationship with Evangelos Marinakis – stating that it had ‘changed’ this summer, and not in a good way.
Speaking last month, he said he feared for his job. Edu was appointed as Forest’s global head of football earlier in the summer and had taken firm control over the club’s recruitment operation, limiting Nuno’s impact – despite the club signing 13 players during the summer window.
‘I always had a very good relationship with the owner – last season we were very close and spoke on a daily basis. This season it is not so well,’ Nuno said at the time.
‘Our relationship has changed and we are not as close. Everybody at the club should be together but this is not the reality.’
Nuno’s Nottingham Forest record
The 51-year-old was only in the job for 20 months but his time at the City Ground has turned Forest from relegation candidates to a European outfit.
He took charge of Forest in December 2023 after Steve Cooper was sacked and helped them avoid the drop that season.
Then in his first full campaign in charge, he guided the club to seventh in the Premier League – their highest finish since 1994-95 – as they qualified for Europe for the first time in three decades. That was originally a Europa Conference League spot before they were elevated to the Europa League at Crystal Palace’s expense.
Forest also reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, before losing 2-0 to Manchester City at Wembley.
His success saw him sign a new three-year deal in June, before being sacked just three months later.
He leaves with Forest 10th in the Premier League table and unable to lead them in a Europa League tie, with their campaign not starting until September 24 at Real Betis.
Nuno was in charge of Forest for 73 games, winning 28, drawing 20 with 25 defeats.
Nottingham Forest’s next manager?
It is unclear who will be the next Nottingham Forest manager at the moment but Ange Postecoglou is among the names linked with the job.
The Australian is without a club after being sacked by Tottenham in the summer, where he won the Europa League with the north London outfit in May.
