Al Ittihad, a Saudi champion, has dismissed Nuno Espirito Santo, the former manager of Tottenham Hotspur.

 

This decision came in response to a series of poor performances under the guidance of the Portuguese coach. Nuno was facing intense pressure due to their struggles in the Saudi Pro League, and the club made the decisive move after a 2-0 loss to Air Force Club of Iraq in the Asian Champions League on Monday. Nuno, who had a successful stint as the head of     Wolverhampton  Wanderers from 2017 to 2021, had been leading Al Ittihad, based in Jeddah, since July of the previous year.
The previous manager of Porto successfully guided Al Ittihad to the Saudi championship in the previous season. However, there were rumors of a strained connection between him and striker Karim Benzema, who became a part of the team in June this year, along with several other international players joining 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 club’s statement mentioned that Assistant coach Hassan Khalifa will assume a temporary managerial role as they work on finding a replacement for Nuno. Nuno had been named as the manager of Tottenham in the summer of 2021, but his tenure was brief, lasting only four months before his dismissal.