Nuno took Al Ittihad to the Saudi Pro League title last season, but the club has lost five games this season, as well as a game in the Asian Champions League.
Al Ittihad have sacked their Portuguese manager, Nuno Espirito Santo, after poor results, the Saudi champions say.
Nuno was under pressure following their struggles in the Saudi Pro League, and the club took down the ax after a 2-0 defeat to the Air Force Club of Iraq in the Asian Champions League (ACL) on Monday.
The Tottenham Hotspur manager, who had a successful spell as Wolverhampton Wanderers boss from 2017 to 2021, has been in charge of Jeddah-based Al Ittihad since July last year.
He led Al Ittihad to the Saudi title last season but there were reports of a difficult relationship with striker Karim Benzema, who joined the club in June as part of the influx of foreign stars to the Pro League.
βThe club has announced the end of the contract with Portuguese coach Nuno Santo,β Al Ittihad said in a statement posted late on Tuesday on X, formerly known as Twitter.
βThis decision comes after an extensive technical evaluation of the last phase in which he was responsible for coaching the first football team.β
Assistant coach Hassan Khalifa will take charge temporarily while the club finalizes a replacement for Nuno, the statement said.
Thanks Nuno π€ pic.twitter.com/pFT5LvzZmR
β Ittihad Club (@ittihad_en) November 7, 2023
The club suffered their first defeat in this season’s ACL when they were defeated in Iraq, which is also their home league. They haven’t won in five games and have dropped to sixth in the league standings.
Meanwhile, Dutch coach Alfred Schreuder has also parted ways with United Arab Emirates club Al Ain after just six months in charge, following reports he would move to Saudi Arabia with Al Ittihad.
βAn agreement has been reached with Dutch coach Schreuder to terminate his contract by mutual consent due to the lack of harmony between the coach and his assistant technical staff with the company’s institutional work system,β Al Ain said on X, formerly known like Twitter.
Local media have linked the 51-year-old Schreuder with the Saudi club.