Real Madrid have sacked head coach Julen Lopetegui after a dreadful start to the season including an El Clasico hammering by Barcelona at the weekend.
Their humiliating 5-1 defeat at the hands of their great rivals Barcelona seems to have been a final straw for the Real Madrid executives after a woeful start by Lopetegui.
The former Spanish national team coach agreed to replace Zinedine Zidane just before the World Cup - a move which cost him the chance to lead his country in Russia as he was relieved of his duties just before the tournament.
Sunday's El Clasico debacle was a fifth defeat in six games for Real and sees them languishing in ninth place in La Liga after their worst start to a season in 17 years.
Former Real Madrid player Santiago Solari has 'provisionally replaced' Lopetegui, according to a club statement, but he's currently the 1/4 favourite to be the next permanent boss at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The departure of Cristiano Ronaldo has perhaps had a bigger impact on Real than the club thought when he left for Juventus in the summer, but they are still clearly a better side than results have shown this season.
Lopetegui grabbed an unwanted record of the longest spell without scoring a goal as Real have toiled, and with so many star names still in the squad the club found it an unacceptable situation.
"The Board of Directors understands that there is a great disproportion between the quality of the staff of Real Madrid, which has eight players nominated for the next Golden Ball, something unprecedented in the history of the club, and the results obtained to date," read a club statement.
More to follow...
