Al Ittihad has dismissed former manager of Tottenham Hotspur, Nuno Santo, due to a series of disappointing results.
The Saudi champions made this decision following the team’s struggles in the Saudi Pro League and a 2-0 loss to Air Force Club of Iraq in the Asian Champions League on Monday.
Nuno, who previously had a successful tenure as the manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers from 2017 to 2021, had been in charge of Al Ittihad, based in Jeddah, since July of the previous year.
Despite leading Al Ittihad to the Saudi title in the previous season, there were reports of a strained relationship between Nuno and striker Karim Benzema, who had joined the club in June as part of the influx of foreign stars into the Pro League.
“The club has announced the end of its contract with Portuguese coach Nuno Santo,” Al Ittihad said in a statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“This decision comes after a comprehensive technical evaluation of the past phase during which he was in charge of coaching the first football team.”
The assistant coach, Hassan Khalifa, will assume temporary leadership as the club works on securing a replacement for Nuno.
Nuno had been appointed as the manager of Tottenham in the summer of 2021 but was dismissed after only four months in the role.
