Which football managers have been sacked this season?

Carlo Garganese

• 14 Apr 2024 17:07 BST
• 11 min read

Being a football manager is not the best career choice if you want job security. Indeed, soccer coaches are sacked on a regular basis as clubs make changes in order to try and achieve success.

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

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.

READ MORE: Premier League summer transfers 2024: All the Done Deals

The 2023-24 season is now into its final stages of the campaign, with the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1 campaigns all experiencing numerous sackings or resignations.

Last season there was an unprecedented number of managerial casualties in England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France. The 2023-24 campaign has followed a similar path.

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

Sacked/departed Premier League managers in 2023-24

Before the 2023-24 Premier League season had even begun, there was the first managerial casualty of the year as Julen Lopetegui left Wolves by mutual consent. He was replaced by former Bournemouth manager Gary O'Neil, completing a chaotic pre-season for the team.

Paul Heckingbottom became the first Premier League manager of 2023-24 to be sacked during the actual season. He received his marching orders on December 5 with Sheffield United bottom of the league. A 5-0 defeat to Burnley a few days earlier proved decisive. He was replaced by Chris Wilder, who returned for a second spell at the club.

Steve Cooper was the second manager to be fired. Nottingham Forest pulled the trigger on December 19 after a six-game winless run had left them hovering just a spot above the relegation zone. He was replaced by former Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo.

On January 26, 2023, Jurgen Klopp shocked the world of football by announcing that he will leave Liverpool at the end of the season after almost nine years in charge. Sporting Lisbon's Ruben Amorim is the favourite to replace him.

On February 29, Roy Hodgson stepped down from his post at Crystal Palace after health complications and a dreadful run of form. The English legend was replaced by ex-Eintracht Frankfurt boss Oliver Glasner.

Erik ten Hag and Mauricio Pochettino are both under heavy pressure at Man Utd and Chelsea, respectively, after disastrous seasons for the club. Ten Hag is almost certain to be sacked at the end of the season, with Gareth Southgate, Graham Potter, Kieran McKenna and Roberto De Zerbi all fighting it out to replace him. Pochettino, meanwhile, has more chance of staying at Chelsea.

In the 2022-23 season, 14 managers were sacked or departed in the Premier League, including Thomas Tuchel, Antonio Conte and Patrick Vieira.

Sacked/departed La Liga managers in 2023-24

Quique Setien became the first La Liga manager to be sacked in 2023-24. The experienced coach paid the price after his Villarreal team won one and lost three of their first four games of the season. He was replaced by former Valladolid manager Pacheta, who only lasted until November 10 before being sacked and replaced by Marcelino.

The next to go was Vicente Moreno at Almeria on September 29 with Almeria bottom of the table. Gaizka Garitano came in his place. But Garitano failed to improve the club's hopes of avoiding relegation and he was also sacked on March 17 with Almeria still bottom. Pepe Mel was the next to be appointed.

Then, with Sevilla 14th in the table, Jose Luis Mendilibar lost his job on October 8 following their 2-2 draw against Rayo Vallecano the previous day. He was succeeded by former Uruguay boss Diego Alonso, who failed to turn Sevilla's fortunes for the better and lasted just over two months before being sacked on December 16. Alonso was replaced by Quique Sanchez Flores.

Paco Lopez was sacked on November 26 as Granada sent him his marching orders with the club 19th in La Liga. He was replaced by Alexander Medina, who lasted less than four months. With Granada in 19th place, Medina was sacked during the international break on March 19. He was replaced by Jose Ramon Sandoval.

Relegation battlers Cadiz also sacked their manager Sergio in January with the club sitting 18th.

On January 27, just a day after Klopp announced he was leaving Liverpool, a second major resignation followed as Xavi announced that he will leave Barcelona on June 30. The 44-year-old's decision came after a 5-3 humiliation at the hands of Villarreal, the first side to put five past Barcelona on home soil in 63 years.

Rayo Vallecano became the next club to sack their manager in February, with Francisco Rodriguez being replaced by Inigo Perez. Former Liverpool and Chelsea coach Rafael Benitez was let go by Celta Vigo on March 12, with the club just one spot above the drop zone.

In the 2022-23 season, 16 managers were sacked in La Liga, including Julen Lopetegui, Unai Emery and Gennaro Gattuso.

Sacked/departed Serie A managers in 2023-24

The first manager to leave their job in Italy was actually the Italy national team manager Roberto Mancini. He resigned from his post on August 13, having led the Azzurri to Euro 2020 glory and then failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup. He was subsequently unveiled as the new Saudi Arabia head coach.

Mancini was replaced by Luciano Spalletti, who won the Scudetto with Napoli last season before stepping down from his post. He successfully led the Azzurri to Euro 2024 qualification to secure his long-term future.

The first Serie A manager to be sacked was Empoli's Paolo Zanetti on September 19. This was after a disastrous start to the season in which Empoli lost four games in a row, including a 7-0 thrashing by Roma.

He was replaced by Aurelio Andreazzoli, who returned for his fourth spell at Empoli. However, Andreazzoli failed to improve things and was sacked himself on January 15 with Empoli 19th in the table. Ex-Salernitana coach Davide Nicola was appointed.

Salernitana coach Paulo Sousa was next in line to be sacked after a 3-0 loss to Monza left his side languishing second from bottom with three points from eight games. The Portuguese was replaced by Italy legend Filippo Inzaghi, brother of Inter boss Simone.

Inzaghi didn't last long and was sacked in February with Salernitana rock bottom. He was replaced by former Lazio and Italy midfield star Fabio Liverani, who lasted even less time than Inzaghi. Just five weeks later, Liverani was sacked with Salernitana well adrift at the bottom of the table. Stefano Colantuono was hired with just nine games left of the season.

The third coach in Serie A to be sacked was Andrea Sottil. Udinese's trigger-happy owners removed the 49-year-old with the club winless and languishing in the relegation zone. They replaced him with Gabriele Cioffi, who had already coached the team in 2022.

Rudi Garcia was sacked as Napoli coach on November 14 after a disastrous start to the season. The reigning champions were already out of the title race by that point. He was replaced by former Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri, who previously managed the Partenopei from 2009 to 2013, winning the 2012 Coppa Italia.

However, Mazzarri was also sacked in February after a poor start in Naples. Francesco Calzona was brought in as caretaker until the end of the season.

Jose Mourinho was the next high-profile casualty as he was sacked by Roma on January 16 after a dreadful first half to the season which saw the Giallorossi fall to ninth place. Mourinho took Roma to back-to-back European finals, winning the Conference League in 2022, but paid the price for poor Serie A form. Mourinho was replaced by legendary former Roma and Italy midfielder Daniele De Rossi until the end of the season.

Sassuolo coach Alessio Dionisi was sacked on February 25 after a terrible run of form put the club in the middle of a relegation race. Davide Ballardini was appointed as the new manager on March 1.

Lecce boss Roberto D'Aversa became the latest Serie A manager to lose his job after he was sacked the day after he headbutted Verona striker Thomas Henry during his side's 1-0 loss on March 10.

Both D'Aversa and Henry were shown red cards for their part in the incident, which took place after the final whistle. Lecce stated the reason for D'Aversa's dismissal was due to "the events that occurred at the end of the Lecce-Verona match."

Luca Gotti was brought in until the end of the season in an attempt to save Lecce from relegation.

Maurizio Sarri was the latest in a long line of big name managers to leave as he resigned from Lazio following the 2-1 home defeat to relegation-threatened Udinese on matchday 28. Sarri had been struggling in ninth place and he was replaced by former Marseille manager Igor Tudor.

A long list of managers are expected to leave their clubs at the end of the 2023-24 season. These include Thiago Motta (Bologna), Vincenzo Italiano (Fiorentina) and Max Allegri (Juventus). It remains to be seen what happens with the caretaker managers at Napoli (Francesco Calzona) and Roma (Daniele De Rossi), although the latter has done an outstanding job so far.

In the 2022-23 season, 10 managers were sacked in Serie A, including Marco Giampaolo and Luca Gotti.

Sacked/departed Bundesliga managers in 2023-24

Just like in Italy, the first manager to be sacked in Germany was the national team coach. Hansi Flick was axed after an embarrassing 4-1 home defeat by Japan in the September international break.

On October 10, relegation battlers Augsburg pulled the trigger on once-highly-rated Enrico Maaßen after his side had collected just five points from the first seven games. He was replaced by Jess Thorup.

The next to go was Mainz manager Bo Svensson with the club struggling at the bottom of the table with one win from nine games.

November 15 marked the end of an era at Union Berlin as club legend Urs Fischer, who had taken the club into the Bundesliga and then the Champions League, was sacked. It came after a disastrous run of 14 games without a win and 13 straight defeats. He was replaced by Croatian coach Nenad Bjelica.

Just before Christmas, Steffen Baumgart left Koln by mutual consent as the club sat in 17th place. He was replaced by former Basel and St Pauli boss Timo Schulz.

The first manager of 2024 to be sacked in the Bundesliga was Jan Siewert, who was axed by Mainz as they risked relegation. Former FC Zurich boss Bo Henrisken took his place.

On February 21, after three punishing losses on the bounce, Bayern Munich announced that they would be parting ways with Thomas Tuchel at the end of the season. Tuchel currently risks failing to see out the season.

Niko Kovac was sacked immediately on March 17 by Wolfsburg after a dismal season, with the club in 14th position. He was replaced by former Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl.

Xabi Alonso announced that he would stay with new Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen for another season before Bochum coach Thomas Letsch was axed with his team hovering above the relegation zone. He was replaced by Heiko Butscher.

In the 2022-23 season, 12 managers were sacked in the Bundesliga, including Domenico Tedesco and Bayern Munich's Julian Nagelsmann.

Sacked/departed Ligue 1 managers in 2023-24

Laurent Blanc was the first Ligue 1 head coach to be sacked, finally parting ways with the club on 11 September after weeks of speculation suggesting his position was under threat.

Blanc was replaced by former Italy World Cup 2006 hero Fabio Grosso, a former player of Lyon. However, Grosso lasted just 10 weeks in charge before he was also sacked. He won just one game and Lyon were still bottom when he left on November 30.

Marseille coach Marcelino was the next to go on September 20 after a difficult start to the season, which included an exit from the Champions League playoffs.

He was replaced by former Milan and Valencia manager Gennaro Gattuso, who had a similar fate to former teammate Grosso, getting the boot on 20 February. Gattuso was replaced by Jean-Louis Gasset.

Bruno Genesio resigned as manager of Rennes on November 19 as they struggled in 13th place, just one point above the bottom three. He was replaced by former Rennes manager Julien Stephan.

Nantes boss Pierre Aristouy was next to follow on November 29 as he was sacked following a four-match winless run that left his side 11th in the standings. He was replaced by Jocelyn Gourvennec, who did an even worst job than Aristouy. With Nantes dropping to 16th and in danger of relegation, Gourvennec was sacked on March 17. He was replaced by Antoine Kombouare.

In the 2022-23 season, 12 managers were sacked in Ligue 1, including Peter Bosz and Lucien Favre.