Burnley
Blackburn Rovers
Coventry City
Derby County
Leeds United
Luton Town
Middlesbrough
Millwall
Norwich City
Portsmouth
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield United
QPR
After weeks of speculation, it has been announced that Ruud van Nistelrooy and Leicester City have mutually agreed to part ways, and the decision has not been well-received.
As was expected for several weeks, Leicester City have sacked head coach Ruud van Nistelrooy ahead of the 2025/26 Championship campaign.
Van Nistelrooy’s parting statement after the decision thanked the club and fans for support with his ill-fated tutelage, and attention now turns to which manager will become his successor.
Sean Dyche has been linked with Leicester, but he is understood not to be considered in the hunt.
As the dust settles on van Nistelrooy’s departure, one major voice in football has slammed Leicester’s delay in deciding to part ways with the boss who oversaw their Championship demotion.
Leicester City slammed for Ruud van Nistelrooy decision delay
For over a month now, there were talks of Leicester sacking van Nistelrooy ahead of the upcoming Championship campaign, and his departure has felt inevitable for several weeks.
As far back as April, Leicester were planning without van Nistelrooy for next season, and the delay has caused angst within the King Power Stadium supporter base.
That uncertainty has seeped into the summer transfer window, with Leicester captain Conor Coady set to join Rangers and German giants Bayer Leverkusen hunting Bilal El Khannouss during Leicester’s managerial dilemma.
Football journalist Henry Winter has slammed Leicester’s lengthy delay in parting with van Nistelrooy, stating that Foxes fans deserve “an explanation” as to why the decision took so many weeks.
Winter said on X: “Leicester City owe their fans an explanation as to why it took so long to announce a decision on parting company with Ruud van Nistelrooy.
“Right decision but why the wait? It was clear a change was needed at the end of the season. Maybe it’s to do with the financial calendar or pursuit of a successor but Ruud didn’t deserve being left in limbo like this.
“The fans didn’t deserve the uncertainty. Recruitment and outgoings would have been complicated/delayed. Leicester have to get their next appointment right.
“Much is right about the Club – stadium, training ground, fanbase, some of the players, academy, community operation – but the mismanagement at board level is deeply frustrating.”
Given that Leicester and van Nistelrooy mutually parted ways at this date in the calendar, it is expected that PSR and Leicester’s financial issues were at play regarding the decision delay.
Why Leicester City have waited to part ways with Ruud van Nistelrooy
Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, Leicester’s owner, warned he couldn’t sack van Nistelrooy because it would place strain on the club’s financial situation and compliance with PSR, which is already under duress.
Leicester are facing a points deduction for next season over alleged breaches of PSR rules pertaining to the 2023/24 Championship season, and further trouble looms within the King Power boardroom.
Leicester City’s owners, King Power are braced for £250m payout, and given that Leicester have been reliant on cash injections from King Power to turn into equity over recent seasons, the club could be heading towards financial turmoil.
| Statistic | Ruud van Nistelrooy at Leicester |
| Games in charge | 27 |
| Wins | 5 |
| Draws | 3 |
| Losses | 19 |
| Win rate | 19% |
The cost of sacking van Nistelrooy was expected to be a “seven-figure fee”, however, given the two parties have split with mutual consent it is unclear what fee Leicester will have shelled out to compensate for the Dutchman’s departure.
Off the field, Leicester and their owners are in times of financial concern, and now the pressure is on to appoint the suitable successor to van Nistelrooy to mount an automatic promotion charge next season, in what is expected to be the best Championship season to date.
Whichever head coach succeeds van Nistelrooy, the 2025/26 Championship fixture list means they will face Sheffield Wednesday at home on opening weekend.
With Danny Rohl the Leicester frontrunner, the German could face his former employers in his debut outing in the Foxes dugout, if Leicester pay Rohl’s £5m release clause.