Nottingham Forest sacked Vitor Pereira in the most brutal way possible as secret clause revealed

Nottingham Forest have sacked Vitor Pereira in a truly brutal way and they've already decided on his replacement.

Just five months after he was appointed as the replacement for Sean Dyche, Pereira has been sacked by Nottingham Forest.

The Portuguese manager was appointed in February as Forest's fourth manager of the season and largely impressed during his time at the club.

Pereira took the Midlands club to 16th in the Premier League and crucially led them to the Europa League semi-finals, making it the first time that Forest had reached a European semi final since 1984.

He had a year left on his deal at the City Ground, and it is believed that Pereira was completely blindsided by the decision, after talks talks over an extension were taking place as recently as last month.

"Although this decision came as a complete surprise to me and without any warning, I fully respect the club's right to make the decisions it believes are best for its future," Pereira wrote in a statement.

"Naturally, I am disappointed and saddened. I truly believed in what we were building together, and I leave with a sense of pride in everything we achieved over the past months.

"I leave Nottingham Forest with no bitterness or resentment—only respect, gratitude and wonderful memories."

But now his time as Forest manager is over, and it's been revealed that he was informed of the decision in perhaps the most brutal way possible.

According to Ben Jacobs, just yesterday Pereira and Forest officials were in discussion over plans for pre-season in Portugal, with a tournament against Udinese and Barcelona organised.

However, a secret clause included in Pereira's contract allowed Forest to pull the trigger and sack the manager at even a moments notice, the only issue was that they had to do so by June 30.

Clearly aware of this fact, Forest are claimed to have informed their manager, via email, that he had been sacked at 11.58pm last night, just two minutes before the clause expired.

Nottingham Forest decide Vitor Pereira replacement

The sudden nature of Pereira's dismissal immediately raises questions as to what could have led Forest to drastically change their mind and part way with the Portuguese boss.

But it is now understood that the decision has been made as Forest are now finalising a deal to appoint former Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner as his successor.

It has been reported that a deal to appoint the Austrian manager, who left the role as Palace manager at the end of last season, is almost completed and will be finalised in the coming days.

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Contact with 51-year-old, who has been linked with the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United in recent months, was reportedly first initiated earlier this summer.

Glasner led Palace to the Europa Conference League title last season and to glory in the FA Cup in 2025.

He will become Forest's fifth manager in less than 12 months, following Nuno Espirito Santo, Ange Postecoglu, Dyche and Pereira.