Nottingham Forest fires Nuno Espírito Santo after falling out with owner Marinakis
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Nottingham Forest fired manager Nuno Espírito Santo just three games into the Premier League season after a deterioration in his working relationship with the club’s hierarchy.
Reports in the British media said former Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou will be the replacement.
Under the 51-year-old Nuno, Forest — the European champion in 1979 and ’80 — secured a spot in European competition for the first time in 30 years thanks to a seventh-place finish in the league last season. Forest was in the top five for most of the campaign and even looked like qualifying for the Champions League.
However, Nuno will not get the chance to lead Forest into the Europa League after a very public falling-out with owner Evangelos Marinakis, reportedly stemming from a breakdown in relations with the club’s recently hired global head of football, Edu Gaspar.
Nuno was critical of Forest’s offseason transfer activity, which he deemed crucial to maintain momentum after the team’s best season this century. With Edu directing transfer operations, most of Forest’s signings came late in the window — by which time Nuno had acknowledged his relationship with Marinakis was “not so good” and that he was worried about his job security.
In a middle-of-the-night statement released by Forest on Tuesday, the club said Nuno had been fired “following recent circumstances” before thanking him “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.”
“As someone who played a pivotal role in our success last season,” the statement read, “he will always hold a special place in our journey.”
Nuno took charge in December 2023 when the team was battling relegation, ensured its survival, then delivered its highest finish since the 1994-95 season.
The team has opened the Premier League with one win, a draw and a loss — 3-0 at home to struggling West Ham before the international break — and visits Arsenal on Saturday.
Forest begins its Europa League campaign with a trip to Spanish club Real Betis on Sept. 24. Finishing seventh in the Premier League actually secured a place in the third-tier Conference League but Forest was promoted to the Europa League at the expense of Crystal Palace — the FA Cup winner — which was found to have breached UEFA rules on club ownership.
Marinakis, who also owns Greek champion Olympiakos, is known in soccer as a big personality with strong opinions on how his clubs are run. He has turned around the fortunes of Forest, which won back-to-back European Cups almost miraculously, dropped down the leagues after relegation from the top flight in 1999 and only returned to the Premier League in 2022.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer