Ruud van Nistelrooy's Leicester departure confirmed
Van Nistelrooy was appointed at the King Power Stadium in November but was unable to steer the club away from danger, with a return to the Championship confirmed with five games of the season to play.
The Dutchman called for clarity on his future following their relegation at the beginning of May, but has had to wait with the club finally confirming his exit on Friday morning.
Leicester City Football Club and Ruud van Nistelrooy have mutually agreed that Ruud's contract with the Club as First Team Manager will terminate with immediate effect.
— Leicester City (@LCFC) June 27, 2025
The delay is understood to have hinged around the start of a new accounting period, which begins on Monday.
With players due back in for pre-season training on June 30, the recruitment process for Van Nistelrooy's replacement is well under way.
A statement read: 'Leicester City Football Club and Ruud van Nistelrooy have mutually agreed that Ruud's contract with the club as first team manager will terminate with immediate effect.
'Ruud has overseen a challenging period for the club. From his appointment in November 2024, he approached the role with professionalism, integrity and a clear commitment to our aims, including through the integration of several promising players from the club's academy into our first team environment.
'Ruud moves on with the respect and thanks of everyone at the football club for his dedication and hard work, and with our very best wishes for the future.
'Preparation for the EFL Championship season will continue with the planned start of pre-season on Monday, June 30.
Van Nistelrooy was unable to halt the slide at Leicester (Cody Froggatt/PA)
'First team coaching staff will oversee the delivery of those plans until a new manager is appointed.
'There will be no further comment until this process has been completed.'
Van Nistelrooy replaced Steve Cooper on November 29 and won four points in his opening two games.
But that was as good as it got, as a run of 15 defeats from their next 16 matches sealed their fate.
Within that run, they lost nine successive home games without scoring – a new top-flight record.
Once relegation was confirmed, the Foxes improved, taking seven points from their final five outings to finish 22nd, 13 points from safety.
Leicester were relegated in the 24/25 season after a terrible campaign (Mike Egerton/PA)
Van Nistelrooy called for talks with the club's hierarchy as soon as relegation was confirmed, but was left hanging for a number of weeks.
The Dutchman said: 'I would like to personally thank the Leicester City players, coaches, academy and all the staff I have worked with for their professionalism and dedication during my time at the club and to thank the fans for their support, and take this opportunity to wish the club well for the future.'
The Foxes face the prospect of having to deal with a significant points deduction in the Championship, having been charged by the Premier League for breaking Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
Leicester begin their season with the visit of Sheffield Wednesday on August 10.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South Wales Argus
32 minutes ago
- South Wales Argus
Toto Wolff again opens door to Max Verstappen-George Russell pairing at Mercedes
Wolff has long been courting Verstappen and Russell, 27, revealed prior to Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix that he believes talks with the four-time world champion and Mercedes are ongoing. Russell, who has been one of the grid's standout performers this season – winning at the previous round in Canada – also suggested Mercedes' discussions with Verstappen could be delaying the renewal of his deal which expires in six months. Verstappen and Russell have a rocky history. They were embroiled in a vicious war of words in Abu Dhabi last December. George Russell says Max Verstappen talks could be delaying his contract renewal at Mercedes (AP Photo/Denes Erdos) Verstappen then accelerated into the British driver's Mercedes in Spain earlier this month – a wild move that leaves the Dutchman one penalty point away from being banned for next weekend's British Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg's relationship descended into chaos in the three years they fought for the world championship as team-mates at Mercedes. But, when asked if Verstappen could be paired with Russell, Wolff said: 'I can imagine every line-up. I had Hamilton and Rosberg fighting for a world championship so everything afterwards is easy. 'There are pros and cons to having two drivers fighting each other hard. We have seen examples where they have functioned and others where they didn't.' Russell's Italian team-mate Kimi Antonelli, 18, has impressed in his rookie season. However, he is under contract for this season only, and has no guarantee of a seat with Mercedes beyond this year. He is 73 points behind Russell in the standings. Kimi Antonelli is currently partnering George Russell (Bradley Collyer/PA) Verstappen's contract at Red Bull runs until 2028, although performance clauses within his current deal could activate an early release. Pressed directly on whether he is in dialogue with Verstappen, Wolff replied: 'At the moment, clearly we need to explore what is happening in the future. 'That doesn't change what I think about George, or Kimi or the line-up that I am extremely happy with. I want to have conversations behind-closed-doors and not in town halls.' It had been suggested that Russell's Mercedes extension could coincide with his home race at Silverstone next weekend. However, it is understood that a fresh deal for Russell, who is 62 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri, is not imminent. Toto Wolff is confident Russell and Verstappen could work as a pairing (Bradley Collyer/PA) And Wolff continued: 'When it comes to the contract situation, our sport is pressure, constant pressure, whether you are inside the car or outside the car, and you just need to cope with that. George knows that. 'I feel like when you are put into a comfort zone that is more detrimental to performance. 'He has always performed to the expectations we have set and he is continuing to do so. We have not given him a car to win the world championship, and that is on us. 'But in the times when the car has been good he is winning races, he is always there and you know he will extract what is in the car. 'He needs to be top of our list because he is a winner, a Mercedes junior, and he has been with us for a long time.'
Daily Mail
39 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Steven Gerrard's former No 2 is lined up by Championship club after rejecting move to Turkey
Hull City are close to appointing Steven Gerrard 's former right-hand man Dean Holden as assistant manager after the Englishman turned down the chance to be the boss of Adana Demirspor in Turkey. Holden, who opened up candidly to Mail Sport in an interview earlier this year, wanted to return to England and is in advanced talks to be the No 2 to Sergej Jakirovic at the Tigers. Holden has recently had experiences as Gerrard's assistant at Al Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia and spent time in Turkey. He was offered jobs at both English and United States clubs but is poised to go in at Championship side Hull. The 45-year-old enjoyed a lengthy playing career - which saw him suit up as a defender for the likes of Bolton Wanderers, Oldham Athletic and Peterborough - before beginning his managerial journey. Over 16 years, he made 369 league appearances across ten clubs, finishing his career with Walsall in 2014. Holden began his coaching career at Oldham, where he took on a short spell as manager in 2015. He later became assistant manager at Bristol City, eventually stepping up to the top job in 2020. After leaving the club in early 2021, he joined Stoke City's backroom staff and had a brief stint as caretaker boss. In late 2022, Holden took charge of Charlton Athletic before departing to work with Derek Chisora as an agency manager at OnlyFans. He then joined Gerrard at Al Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia in February 2024. On his time in the Gulf nation, Holden said: 'Steven Gerrard sees the game differently, as his assistant I learned so much. 'He empowered me to be creative and come up with ideas, to challenge him. He's a really generous guy and I was grateful for the opportunity – I felt like I got five years of experience from him in a year. 'In any other industry, you would pay for the experiences I had. If you were a doctor, you'd pay to go and observe the best brain surgeon in the world.'
Metro
an hour ago
- Metro
Mercedes boss reveals talks with Max Verstappen over sensational F1 transfer
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has confirmed he is in talks to sign Max Verstappen from Red Bull and partner him with Formula 1 rival George Russell. Despite having a contract until 2028, Verstappen has been continually linked with leaving Red Bull, the team he has driven for almost his entire F1 career. There have been ongoing reports of tension at the team, including a long-standing feud between team principal Christian Horner and Verstappen's father Jos, and also questions over whether Red Bull will remain competitive without design genius Adrian Newey. It is said the four-time world champion has exit clauses in his contract and Aston Martin have reportedly offered the four-time F1 champion a deal worth £226million, but Mercedes are better-placed to sign him. Wolff has not hidden his admiration for the Dutchman and both of the Silver Arrows' drivers – Russell and rookie Kimi Antonelli – are out of contract at the end of the year. Ahead of this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix, Russell claimed that the delay over his own contract extension was because Mercedes were in talks with Verstappen. Wolff has now confirmed that 'tentative conversations' have been held with Verstappen's representatives, telling Sky Sports on Friday: 'First of all there is no delay in George's contract negotiations. 'But also, as a team principal, I'm responsible for the best car brand in the world. It's clear you need to explore what a four-time world champion is going to do in the future and that could be long into the future. 'But that has no effect on us putting a signature on George's contract,' with Wolff going onto say that Russell was more likely to be a Mercedes driver next year than Verstappen. This would seem to throw into doubt Antonelli's future despite the 18-year-old's impressive performances but Wolff has also said he is 'extremely happy' with his current line-up. While potentially the best on the grid, a Verstappen/Russell partnership could be problematic given the heated rivalry between the two which came to a head a month ago at the Spanish Grand Prix. More Trending Verstappen deliberately crashed into the British driver during the final few laps in Barcelona but Wolff claims this would not be an obstacle for him, adding: 'I can imagine every line-up. 'I had Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton fighting for a world championship, so everything else afterwards is easy. 'There are pros and cons of having two drivers fighting each other hard. We've seen examples where that functions and other examples where it didn't.' Following his win in Canada, Russell is an outside bet in the title race behind Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris and Verstappen. Asked for an update on his Mercedes contract talks, the 27-year-old told Sky Sports: 'It's not something that I'm pressing massively because the performance is the priority, and I feel with the performance I'm showing at the moment, I've got zero reasons to be worried. 'But obviously, it does help if there was pen on paper. But let's see.' 'As Mercedes, they want to be back on top, and if you're going to be back on top you need to make sure you've got the best drivers, the best engineers, the best pit crew, and that's what Mercedes are chasing. 'So, it's only normal that conversations with the likes of Verstappen are ongoing. But from my side, if I'm performing as I'm doing, what have I got to be concerned about? 'But there's two seats at every team and I guess he [Wolff] needs to think, who are those two drivers going to be for those two seats, and I guess that's what the delay is.' For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. MORE: The primal reason we find F1 drivers so goddamn sexy MORE: Max Verstappen issues statement with F1 champion at risk of race ban MORE: Max Verstappen reveals whether he deliberately crashed into George Russell
