Ruud van Nistelrooy knew it was coming. Everyone at Leicester did. The writing had been on the wall for weeks, if not months. And yet, the silence lingered—loud and uncomfortable—as the club delayed pulling the inevitable trigger.
The former Manchester United striker walked into a club already wobbling after Steve Cooper’s brief, unsuccessful spell. Cooper had been dismissed just 12 matches into the Premier League season, despite Leicester sitting in 16th—above the relegation line. Van Nistelrooy arrived as the solution. Instead, he oversaw a collapse that will be etched in the club’s darkest chapters.
Seventeen defeats in nineteen games. Nine home matches without a single goal. Nine consecutive losses at the King Power. The numbers don’t lie. They echo like empty seats in a half-hearted stadium. Leicester crashed out of the Premier League long before the final whistle of the season.
Yet Van Nistelrooy stayed. He stood on the touchline week after week, offering no hint of departure, even after relegation was confirmed on 20 April. “No discussions have been held,” he claimed ahead of the final match. Behind the scenes, though, the wheels had already turned.
Two months have passed. No press release. No farewell statement. No new name. Seven weeks remain until the Championship season begins, and still Leicester move in silence. But now, the reason behind the delay has surfaced.
The club will wait until after 30 June to officially sack Van Nistelrooy, a move calculated to avoid two managerial payouts falling in the same financial year. It’s cold. It’s calculated. But in today’s game, it’s business.
Leicester continue to await their points deduction for past financial breaches. That penalty will loom over the new campaign like a shadow, and yet, the club is preparing to move on. They’re searching for a new leader. Someone who can weather the storm.
Sean Dyche is at the front of that queue. The former Burnley boss has been described as the man with the right tools for the rebuild. He understands crisis. He understands limitations. Leicester will offer him both.
The budget will be tight. The challenge immense. The fans are restless, and the wounds are fresh. But the reset begins soon—and it will start without Van Nistelrooy.