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Nuno Espirito Santo’s future as Nottingham Forest manager is uncertain after a breakdown in his relationship with owner Evangelos Marinakis.
Sources have told BBC Sport that Nuno’s position is not completely safe despite last season’s achievement of qualifying for Europe, and their win over Brentford in the first round of matches in this season’s Premier League on Sunday.
The uncertainty, according to sources, has now stretched to the playing squad, who are said to be aware of the situation.
On Friday, 51-year-old Nuno said “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” amid rumours about his job.
The internal tensions are believed to centre around disagreements over the club’s transfer business.
Edu was appointed as Forest’s global head of football earlier this summer and has taken firm control over the club’s recruitment operation.
“I always had a very good relationship with the owner – last season we were very close and spoke on a daily basis,” Nuno said.
“This season it is not so well [between us], but I always believe that dialogue is important because my concern is the squad and the season we have ahead of us. Our relationship has changed and we are not as close.”
When asked if it was good that his relationship with Marinakis had changed, Nuno said: “No, it is not good. I think everybody at the club should be together but this is not the reality.”
Forest have been active in the transfer market this summer, signing seven players – although they did sell winger Anthony Elanga to Newcastle for £55m.
But before last Sunday’s 3-1 win over Brentford, Nuno outlined his transfer concerns.
“We have doubts, who is going to be [here], when are they [new signings] going to come? All these things create doubts,” he said.
“Not only me but in the club. What we want is game-by-game to have as many options as possible. Europe will come after, and for sure it will be better, but for now until that happens it is a major concern.
“The owner is aware, the club is aware, everyone is aware. Everybody knows the reality. This is a lost chance that we had as a group to do it.”
Pressed further on rumours his future was in doubt, Nuno told BBC Radio Nottingham: “Nothing has been said to me. I’m just addressing [the rumours] because we are talking, and this is public – and when something is public, I think we should talk about it.
“How do I feel about it? I feel sorry. I think about the players, because today they were aware of things in the morning, and I could see it in their faces.
“But I react as I think I should – as I always have in my life – by facing things and doing the best I can until the very last moment.
“I appreciate the respect and the feelings the fans have towards me. Now that we are in Europe, I think the city’s alive. When I go out, I feel this love – and I just have to thank them.”
In May, Marinakis appeared to confront Nuno on the pitch after a 2-2 draw against Leicester at the City Ground.
Forest later said the incident was because of the owner’s frustration that striker Taiwo Awoniyi had continued to play following an 88th-minute injury, which subsequently required what was described as “urgent” surgery.
The club said there was “no confrontation” and it was “fake news” to suggest otherwise.
Nuno was appointed Forest manager in December 2023 and successfully steered the club away from relegation that campaign, despite a four-point deduction for breaching profit and sustainability rules.
He then guided Forest to seventh in the Premier League last season – their highest finish since 1994-95 – as they qualified for Europe for the first time in three decades.
The former Wolves and Tottenham boss signed a new three-year contract in June, with Marinakis describing their relationship as “strong and solid”.
Forest were initially placed into the Conference League but moved up to the Europa League after Crystal Palace were demoted for breaching Uefa’s multi-club ownership rules.
Marinakis back in charge at Forest
Like Palace, Forest were also at risk of falling foul of Uefa’s multi-club ownership rules because Marinakis also controls Greek side Olympiakos.
In the European governing body’s rulebook, a club must prove they are not “simultaneously involved in any capacity whatsoever in the management, administration, and/or sporting performance of more than one club participating in a Uefa club competition”.
The 58-year-old Marinakis avoided any potential punishment by diluting his control of the Premier League side, a step which was announced in April, when there was the possibility of both teams qualifying for the Champions League.
Ultimately, there were no sanctions to avoid and no case to answer for Forest, because they fell short in their Champions League challenge and are therefore not in the same competition as Olympiakos.
In June, Marinakis effectively regained control and disbanded the blind trust he had set up to oversee club matters.
‘This could throw everything into chaos’
Nottingham Forest Fan writer Pat Riddell
When Nuno Espirito Santo said last week “we have a major problem”, it was assumed he was just taking the heat off the Nottingham Forest squad before Sunday’s Premier League opener against Brentford.
The delay from Uefa in confirming the Reds’ Europa League status was always going to impact the number and calibre of signings that would arrive at the City Ground, and the Morgan Gibbs-White saga certainly did not help in that respect.
But his comments appeared to just be a reality check in case Forest did not hit the ground running in the first few games of the season. Friday’s press conference sheds new light on his relationship with the owner Evangelos Marinakis – a relationship that sounds broken, possibly beyond repair.
We have been here before – many times, to be honest, and most recently with Steve Cooper. Rumours of a sacking circulated before he signed a new contract in October 2022, just days after a 4-0 defeat at Leicester City. And there were more rumours again towards the end of the 2022-23 season. The end, of course, did not come until December that year.
The fans’ reaction is going to be one of overwhelming shock and disappointment. While Cooper did the seemingly impossible and finally got us promoted, Nuno went one better and got us to the brink of the Champions League.
And, while it has only been one game, there was evidence against Brentford that Forest could dominate possession and take control of games – something we rarely saw during the last campaign.
This season was shaping up to be particularly exciting, with the club’s first European adventure in 30 years and the strongest squad we’ve seen at the City Ground in my lifetime.
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