Ex- Tottenham coach Nuno Espírito Santo sacked by Al-Ittihad over reported clash with star player Karim Benzema and poor form.
Al-Quwa Al-Juwiya eliminated the Portuguese coach from his AFC Champions League group after his team had lost their past five league games.
Al-Ittihad boast a string of highly talented players including former Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante, ex-Celtic winger Jota and former Liverpool player Fabinho.
Nuno Espírito Santo has only managed two victories in their last nine games across all competitions, despite their all-star team.
Additionally, according to Revelo, Benzema and Nuno allegedly traded words in the dressing room during an ugly loss to Al-Quwa Al-Juwiya.
Former Tottenham manager has been sacked by Al-Ittihad after a torrid run of form
Karim Benzema was reported to have exchanged insults with the Portuguese manager
In a statement on X, Al-Ittihad said: “The club has announced the end of its contract with Portuguese coach Nuno Santo.
“This decision comes after a comprehensive technical evaluation of the past phase during which he was in charge of coaching the first football team.”
Nuno Espírito Santo had been in charge of Al Ittihad since July 2022, taking the job eight months after being sacked by Tottenham.
In 56 total games in charge of the Saudi club, he lost just eight of them.
According to reports, the team might try to hire a French manager in order to win over Benzema.
The former Lyon manager Laurent Blanc is rumored to be a successor based on the list of suggestion
Additionally, Zinedine Zidane has been mentioned as the ideal manager for the team, although he has rejected proposals thus far.
In the meantime, as the Saudi Pro League tries to open the purse strings once again, Steven Gerrard, the manager of Al Ettifaq, recently declared he will ‘scour Europe’ for more transfer targets for fresh transfer targets.
The Saudi team, which Gerrard took over in July, is now sixth in the league standings with 21 points after 12 games.
