Beginnings On 21 June 2010, Porto announced that Espírito Santo's contract would not be renewed. The 36-year-old said he would always support Porto as he left. After his retirement, he rejoined former Porto manager
Jesualdo Ferreira, moving to
Málaga as a goalkeeping coach, before the pair signed for
Panathinaikos in November.
Rio Ave In May 2012,
Rio Ave dismissed manager
Carlos Brito and announced the appointment of Espírito Santo. In his first match in charge on 18 August, the team lost 1–0 at home to
Marítimo in the first game of the
2012–13 Primeira Liga season. He recorded his first win nine days later, by the same margin away to
Sporting CP. In
his second season in charge, Espírito Santo's team reached both the
Taça de Portugal and
Taça da Liga finals, therefore
leading them to the
UEFA Europa League for the first time in their history.
Valencia in 2015 Espírito Santo signed a one-year contract with
Valencia in
La Liga on 4 July 2014, replacing
Juan Antonio Pizzi. On 12 January 2015, he agreed to an extension to keep him at the club until 2018, and he eventually led them to a fourth place finish in
his first season, Highlights included a 2–1 home win over
Real Madrid and a 2–2 away draw against the same opponent, while he was named
La Liga Manager of the Month three times. He resigned on 29 November 2015, following a 1–0 away defeat to
Sevilla, after a poor start to both Valencia's La Liga and Champions League campaigns. During his time at Valencia, Espírito Santo, his agent Jorge Mendes and club owner
Peter Lim were criticised for signing the agent's clients.
Roberto Ayala, who won several trophies as a Valencia player and later became a
scout, left the club, alleging that they were signing such players for inflated fees.
Porto On 1 June 2016, Espírito Santo signed a two-year contract with Porto, replacing former head coach
José Peseiro. His first game on 12 August was a return to the
Estádio dos Arcos, where his team came from behind to beat Rio Ave 3–1. However, after
a season devoid of silverware which included a
second-place finish in the league, he was relieved of his duties on 22 May 2017.
Wolverhampton Wanderers On 31 May 2017, Espírito Santo was named as the new head coach of
EFL Championship club
Wolverhampton Wanderers, signing a three-year contract. He was voted the competition's
Manager of the Month in November as his team won all four of their games, scoring 13 goals. Espírito Santo led the club to the
Premier League after a six-year absence, achieving promotion with four matches remaining in
the season and being confirmed as champions with two games to spare. On 10 July 2018, it was announced that his contract had been extended until 2021. Espírito Santo was awarded the
Premier League Manager of the Month title in his second month managing in the English top division after his team went unbeaten in September 2018, accruing ten points from four matches and only conceding one goal. It was the first time that a Wolves manager had secured the award, in the club's fifth season in the competition. Wolves finished seventh in the
2018–19 league season; it was the club's highest Premier League ranking, and their highest in the English top-flight since the
1979–80 season when they finished sixth. Wolves also qualified for a European competition for the first time since the
1980–81 UEFA Cup, reaching the UEFA Europa League. Espírito Santo was awarded the Premier League Manager of the Month title for a second time on 10 July 2020 for a run of five fixtures unbeaten between the beginning of March and the end of June, sandwiching the temporary suspension of the
2019–20 Premier League due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. The run included four wins and four clean sheets. The season saw Espírito Santo's team achieve a second consecutive seventh-place finish in the Premier League (with a record points total for Wolves in the Premier League of 59), and reach the quarter-finals of the
UEFA Europa League, the club's best such performance since being
finalists in the
1971–72 UEFA Cup. On 13 September 2020, at the outset of the
2020–21 season, Espírito Santo's contract at the club was extended until summer 2023. He was named the Premier League Manager of the Month for October with a run of four fixtures unbeaten, including three wins without conceding; this was the third time he had received the award. On 27 February 2021, he took charge of his 102nd Premier League game as Wolves head coach as his team played out a 1–1 draw with
Newcastle United at
St James' Park, surpassing
Mick McCarthy as the longest-serving Wolves head coach in the Premier League era. On 21 May, Wolves announced that Espírito Santo would leave the club by mutual consent at the end of the season.
Tottenham Hotspur On 30 June 2021,
Tottenham Hotspur announced Espírito Santo as their new head coach on a two-year contract with an option to extend for a third year. On his debut on 15 August, the team won 1–0 at home against reigning champions
Manchester City through a
Son Heung-min goal. On 29 August, he achieved the best start to a Premier League season for Tottenham after beating
Watford to secure three wins from their first three matches. He won the
Premier League Manager of the Month award for August, the fourth of his career. On 1 November, after his team lost 3–0 at home to
Manchester United, their fifth loss in seven matches and which left them ninth in the table, Espírito Santo was dismissed after less than four months in charge. He was replaced the following day by
Antonio Conte.
Al-Ittihad On 4 July 2022, Espírito Santo was appointed by
Al-Ittihad in the
Saudi Pro League. He held talks for a return to Wolves in October. He won the
2022 Saudi Super Cup on 29 January 2023 with a 2–0
final win over
Al Fayha. On 27 May, he won the club's first league title in 14 years, also after beating
Al-Fayha 3–0 with one match remaining in the league. Espírito Santo was dismissed on 8 November 2023, two days after a 2–0 loss to Iraqi club
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya in the
2023–24 AFC Champions League.
Nottingham Forest 2023–24: Relegation battle On 20 December 2023, Espírito Santo was appointed head coach of Premier League club
Nottingham Forest, following the dismissal of
Steve Cooper. His appointment at Nottingham Forest also reunited him with former players at Wolves, such as
Morgan Gibbs-White and
Willy Boly. The side's first win under his tenure came on 26 December as they beat
Newcastle United 3–1. This was followed by a 2–1 home win against
Manchester United, which was Forest's first Premier League victory over the club in 29 years. On the final day of
the season, Espírito Santo led Forest to a 2–1 away win over
Burnley to secure the club's survival from relegation with a 17th-placed finish in the league.
2024–25: Pushing up the table and departure On 14 September 2024, Espírito Santo led Forest to a 1–0 away win over
Liverpool at
Anfield, which was the first time the club had won at Liverpool in any competition since February 1969, ending a 25-game winless run at Anfield, and securing Espírito Santo's first ever Premier League victory against Liverpool.
Callum Hudson-Odoi scored the winning goal in the 72nd minute. Espírito Santo led Nottingham Forest to their first win at
Old Trafford since 1994 on 7 December 2024, securing a 3–2 victory over
Manchester United. After securing a sixth consecutive Premier League win with a 3–0 away victory over
Wolverhampton Wanderers at
Molineux on 6 January 2025, Nottingham Forest sat third in the Premier League table on the same 40-point total as
Arsenal in second place. This defied the expectations of many journalists and pundits, who had predicted at the start of the season that Forest would struggle and get relegated to the
EFL Championship. Subsequently, Espírito Santo won the Premier League Manager of the Month award for his oversight of Forest's performances in December 2024. In April 2025, Espírito Santo was announced as the Premier League Manager of the Month for March. This marks the third time he has won the award this season, having previously claimed it in October and December 2024. He became the first Nottingham Forest manager to win the award three times in a single season. He ultimately led the club to a
seventh-place finish and qualification for the
Europa League, marking their first participation in European football in 30 years. On 21 June 2025, Nuno signed a new contract to stay with Nottingham Forest until 2028. However, on 9 September 2025, he was dismissed from his duties only three Premier League games into the
new season. His departure was primarily due to his relationship with owner
Evangelos Marinakis breaking down over the summer, with Nuno also publicly expressing his displeasure with the club's activity in the transfer market.
West Ham United On 27 September 2025, Espírito Santo was appointed head coach of Premier League club
West Ham United on a three-year contract, following the dismissal of
Graham Potter. His arrival meant that he would reunite with former Wolves player
Maximilian Kilman. He started his tenure as manager with a 1–1 draw at the
Hill Dickinson Stadium against
Everton on 29 September. On 1st November, his first win came in a 3–1 win over Newcastle United with goals from
Lucas Paquetá,
Tomáš Souček and an own goal from
Sven Botman and it was the first time the Hammers won at home since beating
Leicester City 2–0 in February. ==Personal life==