Nottingham Forest head coach Nuno Espirito Santo has confirmed reports that his relationship with owner Evangelos Marinakis has broken down.
Nuno delivered an unforeseen season for Forest during 2024-25, securing continental football through a seventh-placed finish in the Premier League with the club now preparing for a Europa League campaign.
Forest also prevailed 3-1 against Brentford in their top-flight opener for 2025-26 last weekend, but comments made by Nuno prior to that fixture have seemingly led to the possibility of him being sacked by Marinakis.
The Portuguese expressed his frustration that his squad was not as strong as it should be ahead of their upcoming schedule, even in the knowledge that three new attacking additions were in the offing.
James McAtee, Omari Hutchinson and Arnaud Kalimuendo have all arrived at the City Ground for in excess of £90m, yet it appears that Nuno's relationship with Marinakis may be beyond repair.
Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis pictured in November 2024
'We are not close'
Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of the trip to Crystal Palace, Nuno's future was the inevitable hot topic, and he acknowledged that there had been disagreements behind the scenes.
He said, as quoted by BBC Sport: "I always had a very good relationship with the owner, last season we were very close and spoke on a daily basis.
"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."
Nuno added: "It is not good. I think everybody at the club should be together but this not the reality."
"I'm being honest with you, it is not the same. The reason behind it I do not know. What I said last week or two weeks ago was my concern and why I was worried about where we were going [as a club]."
"What I said, I said it with respect. The reality is that the relationship is not what is use to be. It was a respectful relationship based on trust and sharing opinions but now it is not so good."
Nottingham Forest head coach Nuno Espirito Santo in May 2025.
Is there any way back for Nuno at Forest?
Nuno added that his outburst was down to having doubts over whether he could realistically keep Forest on an upward trajectory this season.
Nevertheless, it feels like he may have gone too far in the eyes of the temperamental Marinakis, even given Forest's recent success.
Reading between the lines, Nuno seems accepting of his fate if Marinakis does remove him from the dugout, yet it would be a decision that would create anger among the club's fanbase.
Forest supporters will hope that it is nothing more than a clash of personalities, rather than anything that cannot be resolved when both men want to bring success to the East Midlands.
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