The future of Nuno Espírito Santo wasn’t expected to be a talking point at Nottingham Forest at the start of the season, leading to questions over the financial impact of a potential sacking.
Espírito Santo has fallen out with Edu over the summer, which has led to a number of honest press conferences from the Forest manager.
The comments have naturally fuelled rumours that he could be sacked, with the Forest squad reacting to the Nuno rumours with concern, given the apparent harmony between player and manager.
With alternative options being sounded out in the media, Nottingham Forest News has spoken to football finance expert Adam Williams to discover the figures involved in sacking Espírito Santo.
Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo during the Crystal Palace game.
Photo by Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The financial impact of sacking Nuno Espírito Santo
Talks between Espírito Santo and Edu were set to take place following Sunday’s draw with Crystal Palace, with the hope clearly that the pair can set aside any differences to save Evangelos Marinakis from making a decision he can’t have expected to be considering.
Given that Forest gave Nuno a new contract over the summer, Williams has explained how complicated and costly a change in head coach could be.
He said: “Usually, the presumption is that, if a club wants to sack its manager, they need to pay out the remainder of his contract. In some cases, that’s about right. But there are just as many instances where there are break clauses or other measures which reduce the overall financial impact.
“We don’t know how much Espirito Santo’s contract is worth or what the structure of it is, so we can’t say for certain how much the overall impact might be. Whether new backroom staff are appointed too could move the needle slightly. There might also be some legal fees involved.
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"That's nonsense" ❌
Nuno Espirito Santo says he has no doubt that he wants to continue as Nottingham Forest head coach 🌳 pic.twitter.com/uVgUACkyfm
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 24, 2025
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“Sometimes, the club will pay out the value of the contract in one go, while in other cases the manager will just continue to receive his salary as he ordinarily would. Either way, however, it’s likely that the club’s financial auditors would want the overall cost to be capitalised immediately.
“In layman’s terms, that means that if Nuno is entitled to £8m over the next three years, £8m will be deducted from Forest’s bottom line immediately.”
Whatever the figure, then, it’s clear that removing Espírito Santo from his role would bring an immediate cost, with it reasonable to suggest this cost would be a significant one given how recently he signed his new contract.
Therefore, Reds fans may also worry about the potential PSR impact of a costly sacking, but Williams has eased any concerns of financial penalties.
PSR wouldn’t stop Nottingham Forest sacking Nuno Espírito Santo
The cost of sacking the Portuguese manager would immediately impact the current season’s PSR calculations. For Williams, though, he cannot see how this would deter Marinakis from making a decision should the moment come.
"Our relationship has changed… it's not good."
Nuno Espirito Santo says the relationship between himself and Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has changed for the worse. pic.twitter.com/bfcv7f43uf
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 22, 2025
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He continued: “I don’t think for a second that that [PSR] would stop Marinakis from pulling the trigger, however, as Forest’s PSR position is much better as of late after the £67m they lost in 2022-23 fell out of the equation.”
Clearly, the support of the City Ground faithful remains in Nuno’s corner, but the importance of Edu’s role across Marinakis’ multiple clubs makes it hard to see a scenario where the Forest owner chooses his manager over the Brazilian.