Nottingham Forest extends manager Nuno Espirito Santo’s contract after European qualification

NOTTINGHAM, England (AP) – Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo has been rewarded with a contract extension for leading the club to its first European qualification for almost 30 years.

The 51-year-old Nuno signed a three-year deal to stay at the City Ground until at least 2028, the Premier League club said on its website Saturday.

“Nuno masterminded an incredible 2024-25 season for Forest, guiding the club to its highest league finish in 30 years and thus qualifying for UEFA European competition for the first time since 1995-96,” the club said.

Nuno’s team enjoyed away wins over Liverpool and Manchester United, and strung together the club’s longest top-flight winning streak since 1967.

Forest was on course for Champions League qualification after beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 away in April, but only one more win in the last five games meant it had to settle for seventh place. Only the top five qualified for Europe’s premier competition.

Forest had to settle for the third-tier Conference League competition – and will learn its playoff-round opponent when the Aug. 4 draw is made.

Club owner Evangelos Marinakis remonstrated with Nuno on the field after a 2-2 draw with Midlands rival Leicester dented its Champions League hopes. The club later said that Marinakis’ concern was about the handling of injured player Taiwo Awoniyi.

On Saturday, Marinakis only had words of praise.

“Nuno has made a great impact and performed very well during his time with us so far,” the Greek businessman said. “He has demonstrated that he maximizes player performance and is an expert at developing players, whilst also embedding our young talent into the first team set-up.”

Nuno, who previously managed Wolves and Tottenham, took over at Forest from the fired Steve Cooper in December 2023 and helped the team avoid relegation on the final day of the season.

“I am delighted to be able to continue our journey at this fantastic football club,” the manager from the island country of São Tomé and Príncipe said of his contract extension. “Since we arrived at Forest, we have worked extremely hard to create a special bond between the players, the fans and everyone at the club, which helped us achieve great things last season.”