West Ham United head coach Nuno Espirito Santo is embroiled in a legal dispute with Nottingham Forest relating to his controversial sacking at the start of the season.
While Nuno is trying to lead West Ham out of the relegation places, possibly at Forest’s expense, The Athletic can reveal that lawyers have been hired to take on his former club.
The precise terms of the dispute have not been revealed but sources, speaking anonymously because of the sensitivities of the case, have described it as an acrimonious matter that highlights the bad feeling on both sides.
Nuno signed a new three-year contract at Forest on June 20 as a reward for what the club described as an “incredible” season, having qualified for Europe for the first time in 30 years.
The team spent several months in the Champions League qualification places before eventually finishing seventh, resulting in a place in the Europa League. Nuno won the Premier League’s manager of the month award three times, as well as leading Forest to their longest top-flight winning streak since 1967 and their first away wins at Liverpool and Manchester United in 55 and 30 years respectively.
However, the 52-year-old’s position at the club came under threat following the appointment of Edu as global head of football for the Evangelos Marinakis football empire, taking in Forest, Greek side Olympiacos and Portuguese team Rio Ave.
As The Athletic reported at the time, Nuno and Edu clashed immediately after the head coach took exception to something that was said in their very first meeting. Edu was then involved in the talks that led to Marinakis, the ultimate decision-maker at Forest, deciding to sack Nuno and put in motion the sequence of events that resulted in the appointment of Ange Postecoglou, then Sean Dyche and now sees Vitor Pereira in charge.
Nuno has clashed with Edu, the former Arsenal director (Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images)
It is the first time any Premier League club has had four full-time managers in one season, but what has not been known until now is that the issues between Nuno and Forest remain ongoing.
Announcing their decision to sack him, three games into the season, Forest’s statement on September 3 explained it was due to “recent circumstances”.
Nuno, who has previously managed Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur, had gone public in media conferences to complain about the club’s recruitment and, without naming Edu directly, also revealed that his relationship with Marinakis was not as close as it had been previously.
Forest’s statement went on to say that he “will forever be remembered fondly in the history of the club … as someone who played a pivotal role in our success last season, he will always hold a special place in our journey”.
Nuno would have been expected to get a considerable payoff as part of his departure, bearing in mind he was sacked only 75 days after signing his new contract. However, it is not clear whether the legal dispute relates to money issues. Sources have indicated that there are complaints on both sides.
In the meantime, Nuno’s West Ham have recovered a seven-point deficit to move level on points with 17th-placed Forest after the midweek fixtures. West Ham continued their recent revival with a 1-0 win at Fulham, whereas Forest came away with a 2-2 draw at title-chasing Manchester City. West Ham remain in the bottom three because of their inferior goal difference.