Al-Ittihad, the Saudi Pro League winners, fired Nuno Espirito Santo, the former manager of Wolves and Tottenham, after a string of disappointing performances.
They have won six of their twelve league games thus far this season. On Monday, they lost 2-0 against the Air Force Club of Iraq in the Asian Champions League.
Following his dismissal from Tottenham eight months prior, Nuno, 49, took over at Al-Ittihad in July 2022.
Hassan Khalifa, the assistant coach, will assume interim leadership of the group.
Nuno, a Portuguese player, had a great tenure at Wolves from 2017 to 2021, however he was only at Spurs for four months when Antonio Conte took over after Spurs lost five of their ten Premier League games.
The former Porto coach led Al-Ittihad of Jeddah to the Saudi title last season, but there were indications of a strained relationship with former Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema, who joined the club in June this year as part of the league’s influx of stars.
“The club has announced the end of its contract with Portuguese coach Nuno Santo,” Al-Ittihad stated in a statement on X.
“This decision comes after a comprehensive technical evaluation of the past phase during which he was in charge of coaching the first football team.”
Former Liverpool midfielder Fabinho, as well as ex-Chelsea and Leicester star N’Golo Kante, play for Al-Ittihad, who are sixth in the Saudi Pro League and face Abha on Friday.
