Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been sacked by Besiktas after the Turkish club were dumped out of Europe in the Conference League play-offs.
Solskjaer, 52, lasted seven months in Turkey having been appointed to the role in January, his first position since losing his job as Man United manager in November 2021.
Besiktas confirmed in a short statement on Thursday that the United legend had been relieved of his duties. The decision came just hours after they were beaten by INEOS-owned Lausanne-Sport in their Conference League play-off.
The Turkish outfit were knocked out of the European competition altogether after losing 2-1 on aggregate following a 1-0 home defeat.
The club announced the decision in a brief 39-word statement after a board meeting following the match.
‘Our contract with manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been terminated following a decision made at the board meeting,’ Besiktas said.
‘Following the meeting, our chairman, Serdal Adalı, thanked Solskjaer for his services to date. We respectfully present it to the public.’
The Norwegian enjoys legendary status at United following his playing career and won 91 of his 168 games as manager of the club, guiding them to a second-place finish in the Premier League and the Europa League final in 2021.
He was sacked just a few months on from the European final defeat to Villareal after a poor start to the following season, despite bringing Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo to Old Trafford.
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Having taken an extended break from the game, Solskjaer made the surprise move to Turkey on a one-and-a-half-year deal through to the summer of 2026 and was set to pocket around £3m from his contract.
His sacking comes just one match into the SuperLig season, but it appears Solskjaer has paid the price for a dismal European campaign.
Besiktas failed to make the Europa League group stages after they lost 6-2 to Shakhtar Donetsk over two legs.
The disappointing defeat saw them drop into the Conference League play-offs and they had been favorites to get past Swiss side Lausanne but suffered a shock exit, meaning they will not play in Europe this season.
Solskjaer’s Besiktas finished fourth in the 2024-25 campaign after he had taken over midway through the campaign, succeeding Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
It was thought that Besiktas bosses had been considering sacking the Norwegian manager for weeks before the decision was made on Thursday and had even sounded out options to succeed him.
A name at the top of the Turkish club’s shortlist is believed to be another former Premier League star, Nuri Sahin.
Sahin made 12 appearances for Liverpool during a short stint in England but is most renowned for his time at Borussia Dortmund.
He’s moved into coaching post-retirement and was most recently in charge at BVB before his sacking earlier this year.
The German international is now favourite for the Besiktas job but is unlikely to take over before the club’s fixture at Alanyaspor this Sunday.
It’s likely Solskjaer’s replacement will be appointed during the upcoming international break, which commences following this weekend’s round of fixtures.
Daily Mail
