Which football managers have been sacked this season?

Carlo Garganese

• 23 Dec 2024 14:11 GMT
• 8 min read

Being a football manager is arguably the worst career choice possible if you want job security.

Indeed, soccer coaches are sacked on a regular basis as clubs across the world make changes in order to try and achieve success.

Across Europe's top leagues and beyond, head coaches are either sacked or choose to resign frequently throughout the season, with the length of a manager's stint getting shorter and shorter with each passing year.

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In fact, the next manager to be sacked is a vital part of football transfer news, as the impact of a managerial change can often make a huge difference both on and off the pitch. Furthermore, patience with managers grows ever thinner with each defeat a team suffers.

The 2024-25 European season is now entering the Christmas period and a long list of managers across the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1 have been sacked this campaign.

Below, FootballTransfers runs through every manager in Europe’s top five leagues who have left their posts this campaign.

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Sacked/departed Premier League managers in 2024-25

The first big managerial appointment of the English season came on October 16 when it was announced that Thomas Tuchel was the new permanent head coach of the England national team. Tuchel replaced Gareth Southgate, who resigned after Euro 2024, with caretaker boss Lee Carsley returning to the Under-21s. Tuchel's contract started from January 1, 2025.

Erik ten Hag became the first Premier League manager to be sacked on 28 October, when he was dismissed following Man Utd's 2-1 loss against West Ham United. After Ruud van Nistelrooy was caretaker for a few games, Ten Hag was permanently replaced by former Sporting Lisbon manager Ruben Amorim on November 11.

Leicester City manager Steve Cooper was the second Premier League boss to get the boot. He was sacked following a 2-1 loss to Chelsea despite sitting outside of the relegation zone. He was replaced by Van Nistelrooy, who did not have to wait long to get a new job.

Then Wolverhampton Wanderers relieved Gary O'Neil of his duties after their 2-1 loss to newly-promoted Ipswich Town. There were chaotic scenes at the end of this game with fights breaking out on the pitch between staff and players. Vitor Pereira was appointed as Wolves' next manager.

Russell Martin lost his job on the same day, with Southampton pulling the trigger following a humiliating 5-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at St Mary's. The newly-promoted side were rock bottom of the Premier League at the time, having only won one of their opening 16 games. He was replaced by Ivan Juric.

In 2023-24, only three Premier League managers were sacked during the season - Paul Heckingbottom (Sheffield United), Steve Cooper (Nottingham Forest) and Roy Hodgson (Crystal Palace). Heckingbottom was replaced by Chris Wilder, Nuno Espirito Santo took charge at Forest, and Oliver Glasner was chosen as Hodgson's successor. Julen Lopetegui left Wolves before the season had even started, while Mauricio Pochettino, Roberto De Zerbi, Jurgen Klopp and David Moyes all departed at the end of the campaign.

Sacked/departed La Liga managers in 2024-25

The first La Liga manager to be sacked in the 2024-25 season was Luis Carrion, who was given his marching order on October 8 with Las Palmas bottom of the table. He was replaced by Diego Martinez.

Paulo Pezzolano was next to go on November 30 at Real Valladolid, who themselves were bottom at the time of his sacking. He was succeeded by Diego Cocca.

On December 2, Alaves sacked Luis Garcia and replaced him with Eduardo Coudet.

Shortly before Christmas, Valencia pulled the trigger on Ruben Barajas, with the team languishing 19th after winning just two of their opening 17 fixtures.

In 2023-24, 11 LaLiga managers were sacked, with Villarreal, Sevilla, Granada and Almeria all going through three separate head coaches during the campaign.

Cadiz, Rayo Vallecano and Celta Vigo also sacked managers last season.

Sacked/departed Serie A managers in 2024-25

Roma's Daniele De Rossi became the first head coach of the 2024-25 Serie A season to be sacked as he was handed his dismissal on September 18 after failing to win any of the first four games of the campaign.

Ivan Juric arrived as his replacement on a contract until the end of the season with an option to extend if Roma qualify for the Champions League. However, Juric was sacked after less than two months in charge after a dismal spell with the Italian giants which saw them just four points above the relegation zone.

With Roma in complete crisis both on and off the pitch, the club turned to Claudio Ranieri. The 73-year-old Roman returned on November 14 as Roma's caretaker manager until the end of the season. It was his third spell at the club, at the age of 73.

Luca Gotti was sacked by Lecce on November 9 after a terrible start to the season, which saw the club struggling in the relegation zone at the time of his departure. He was replaced by Marco Giampaolo.

Alberto Gilardino was the next coach to be axed in Serie A on November 19 with Genoa enduring a disastrous start to the season on and off the pitch. Patrick Vieira was announced as his replacement the following day, reuniting with his former Nice pupil Mario Balotelli.

Monza boss Alessandro Nesta was the next in line as the Italy legend was fired on December 23 following a 2-1 loss to Juventus that left his side rooted to the bottom of Serie A.

Hellas Verona's Paolo Zanetti are currently at risk of the sack. Meanwhile Paulo Fonseca is also under pressure as Milan are already out of the Scudetto race and struggling to finish in the top four. Thiago Motta has also been under-fire after a poor start to the season at Juventus but there is little immediate risk for him.

Only five managers who started the 2024-25 season were coaches of their clubs in the season before.

In 2023-24, 14 Serie A managers departed, including Jose Mourinho, Maurizio Sarri and Massimiliano Allegri.

Napoli were arguably the biggest story of the season as they went through three managers in a dismal campaign that saw them finish 10th after winning the Scudetto in 2023.

Sacked/departed Bundesliga managers in 2024-25

VfL Bochum's Peter Zeidler became the first Bundesliga manager to be sacked during the 2024-25 campaign.

The club opted to part ways with Zeidler and sporting director Marc Lettau following a crisis meeting on October 20. Bochum were rock bottom of the Bundesliga table upon Zeidler's departure, with only one point from their opening seven games. He was replaced by Dieter Hecking.

Pellegrino Matarazzo was then sacked by Hoffenheim on November 11, with the club languishing down in 15th place in the German top flight. He was replaced by Christian Ilzer.

In 2023-24, eight Bundesliga managers were sacked, including Union Berlin legend Urs Fischer, who left the club in November after a torrid run of form.

Augsburg were the only German top flight team to sack two managers last year.

Sacked/departed Ligue 1 managers in 2024-25

Montpellier head coach Michel Der Zakarian was the first Ligue 1 coach to be sacked this season following a 5-0 home loss against Marseille. He was replaced by veteran Jean-Louis Gasset, who returned for his third spell at the club.

Rennes coach Julien Stephen was the next to be sacked on November 7 as they struggled in 13th place. He was replaced by veteran former Chile manager Jorge Sampaoli.

The third manager to lose his job in Ligue 1 was Saint-Etienne boss Olivier Dall'Oglio, who was jettisoned by the newly promoted club after they suffered a 2-1 loss to Toulouse in what was their final league match of 2024. He was replaced by the Norwegian manager Eirik Horneland.

In 2023-24, eight Ligue 1 managers were sacked, including Laurent Blanc, Fabio Grosso and Will Still.