Nuno Espirito Santo’s start in English football came with Wolves in 2017 and his decision to leave the club four years later left the now-Nottingham Forest boss noticeably emotional
Nuno Espirito Santo vowed not to cry in his emotional exit from Wolves. The 51-year-old spent four years with the west Midlands side and was at the helm for their promotion to the Premier League for the first time in six years.
The Portuguese boss – who clinched European football with Nottingham Forest on Sunday – followed that up with a club-best seventh-placed finish in their first season back in the top division.
It also meant also meant they qualified for the Europa League, their first participation in a European competition since the 1980/81 UEFA Cup. A third season at the helm saw Wolves maintain consistency with a second consecutive seventh-placed finish as well as a run to the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
But they dropped to 13th in Nuno’s last season at the club in the 2020/21 campaign. His departure by mutual consent was announced two days before the final day of the season.
In what was his last game managing the side, the club fell to a 2-1 home loss against Manchester United. It saw fans return to Molineux for the first time that season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking after the game, he said of his feelings: “I promised I would stay strong but it was very special and emotional, I will miss it. [I] thanked each and every one of them for all the effort and the commitment, the help [in] tough moments [and] how we celebrated together.”
After being asked on what it meant getting a farewell from the club’s supporters, he answered: “It means a lot, it means that football is back and this is the first game of football that we love with fans and [the] atmosphere was special.”
Following his departure, he joined Tottenham Hotspur that summer but lasted just less than four months before he was sacked. A run of five losses in seven games left them ninth in the table come November.
After a spell in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ittihad, he returned to English football with Forest and secured their Premier League survival last season after a final day 2-1 win over Burnley.
Forest’s 2-2 draw with Leicester City on Sunday will see the club return to Europe next season for the first time since 1996 in what has been a whirlwind campaign for the two-time European Cup winners.
Despite the achievement, Nuno was confronted by Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis after full-time. He explained the source of the Greek billionaire’s anger had to do with Taiwo Awoniyi’s injury, which forced the hosts to finish with 10 men having used all of their substitution windows.
After coming on in the 83rd minute, the Nigerian striker crashed into the post minutes later and while he looked okay to carry on, his noticeable discomfort was clear to see and he subsequently left the field. Miscommunication between the physios and the bench meant the final substitution opportunity passed.
“It was due to the situation,” the Forest boss said after the game. “There was a confusion over the situation of T [Taiwo Awoniyi].
“There was frustration to play 10 minutes with a player that had so much confidence and being positive that he’s going to score. We made the sub, then played with one man less. That causes frustration, it’s obvious.”
The on-pitch controversy was subject to much discussion, with Gary Neville publicly denouncing Marinakis’ actions and even urging Nuno to leave the club that day. Writing on X, the Manchester United icon wrote: “Scandalous from that Forest owner. Nuno should go and negotiate his exit tonight with him! The Forest fans, players and manager do not deserve that.”
His opinion was shared by Jamie Carragher, who was on duty for Sky Sports at the time, as the Liverpool legend told Marinakis to “get off the pitch” before calling the businessman “embarrassing”. While it’s clear to see Nuno wears his heart on his sleeve, he kept his emotions in check on this occasion and looks set to ignore Neville’s suggestion of quitting another Premier League job.
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