Edu exit confirmed after seven-month Forest absence
Written by
Simon Austin
September 8, 2026
Edu has left his role as Nottingham Forest’s Global Head of Football, 14 months after being appointed to the newly-created position.
The Brazilian’s contract has been terminated and he will not be replaced. As TGG revealed in July, George Syrianos has been promoted to Chief Football Officer and takes on the 48-year-old’s responsibilities.
Edu had not been involved in the day-to-day running of Forest’s football department since February and stopped attending matches or visiting the training ground.
His remit had covered recruitment, performance, squad strategy and player development across owner Evangelos Marinakis’s three clubs, Nottingham Forest, Olympiacos and Rio Ave.
The former Arsenal Sporting Director was appointed in July 2025, yet his position came under almost immediate scrutiny. Head Coach Nuno Espirito Santo was sacked in September 2025 after a public falling-out with Marinakis and became the first of four Head Coaches to be used last season.
He had remained listed as Global Head of Football on Forest’s official website in the ‘who’s who’ section, although that has now been removed. His LinkedIn profile still shows him as being at the club.
Credentials
Edu was a member of Arsenal’s 2003/4 Invincibles side and won two Premier League titles and two FA Cups with the Gunners. He returned as Technical Director in July 2019 and became their first Sporting Director in November 2022, appointing Mikel Arteta as Head Coach, before resigning in November 2024.
Before Arsenal he was General Co-ordinator of the Brazil national team and Director of Football at Corinthians.
On his appointment at Forest, owner and President Marinakis said Edu’s “global experience, values and winning mindset align perfectly with our objective to strengthen and expand our international football platform”.
Edu said he looked forward to “building a global football model that is competitive, sustainable, and aligned with our President’s ambition”.
Rebuilt department
Edu’s exit completes a near-total turnover of Forest’s senior football and executive staff inside 12 months.
Ross Wilson left as Chief Football Officer for Newcastle United in October 2025 and the role sat vacant until Syrianos was promoted. Ferreira moved up from Head of Recruitment to Technical Director.
Ed Henderson returned in the new role of Chief of Staff, Football, having left the club in December 2025 for a move to Saudi Arabia that fell through. Connor Barrett was promoted from Global Recruitment Operations Manager to Assistant Sporting Director.
Head of Football Development and Talent Management Craig Mulholland left at the end of last season to become Chief Football Officer at the Scottish FA, and Data Scientist Alex Marin Felices departed after three seasons.
Above them, Chief Executive Lina Souloukou stepped down on 5th June and was replaced on 2nd September by Theodore Giannikos, the former Olympiacos executive who spent a decade at FIFA as director of strategic partnerships and media projects and then director of Member Associations Services, and sat on the European Club Association’s Executive Board from 2012 to 2016.
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