Real Madrid announces the goodbye of Sergio Scariolo

Sergio Scariolo was fired this Thursday as coach of Real Madrid one season after arriving at the clubin which he has not been able to lift any trophy, a decision that is expected to give way to the stage of Pedro Martínez, Valencia Basket coach with whom the club has an agreement.

In a statement, the entity chaired by Florentino Pérez He assures that he has decided by “mutual agreement” with Scariolo to end his time as coach of the basketball team.

“Real Madrid, which will always be your home, thanks you for your commitment, dedication and professionalism. that he has demonstrated in our club, and we wish him and his entire family the best in this new stage of their lives,” the entity says.

Despite signing a three-year contract last summer and reaching the finals of the Endesa Super Cup, the Copa del Rey and the Euroleague, the ‘merengue’ team will renew its project with a new coach, with the Spanish Pedro Martínez, from Valencia Basket, as the main candidate.

Scariolo, who returned to the White House for the second time after his first stage from 1999 to 2002, arrived as the big bet of the section, backed by his impeccable career at the head of the Spanish team, with which he won a total of eight medals, including five golds (World Cup 2019, Eurobasket 2009, Eurobasket 2011, Eurobasket 2015 and Eurobasket 2022).

The 65-year-old Italian coach replaced Chus Mateo, who in turn replaced him at the helm of the national team, once Spain’s participation, eliminated in the first round, in Eurobasket 2025, held in Cyprus, Finland, Poland and Latvia, ended.

Despite coming close to three titles, Scariolo finished the season blank, something that had not happened at Real Madrid in the last 16 years.

The premature elimination in the quarterfinals of the Endesa League against La Laguna Tenerife triggered the rumor mill about a possible dismissal of the coach, who in the press conference after the third and final match recalled that he had signed for three seasons with the club.

Now colder, and through his social networks, Scariolo apologized to the white fans for the defeat against the Canaries and opted for “daily work” as a tool to face the future with “optimism”, hinting that his intention was to continue on the Movistar Arena bench next year.

With the resignation of Sergio ‘Chacho’ Rodríguez as sports director and the Lithuanian Martynas Pocius, his right-hand man and person responsible for scouting tasks, who also arrived last summer, Real Madrid gives a new turn to the section for the 2026-27 season with Juan Carlos Sánchez again at the helm.