A special clause even makes it a bargain: the coaching shake-up at Eintracht Frankfurt regarding Albert Riera has apparently already been decided

As Sky reports, Eintracht Frankfurt are keen to avoid a rapid escalation. The club believe it makes more financial sense to wait until the summer, when Riera's contract includes a "parachute clause" that allows for a cost-effective early exit, despite the deal running until 2028.

According to Sky, Frankfurt already has four candidates on its shortlist. One is reported to be Matthias Jaissle, who has just won back-to-back Asian Champions League titles with Al-Ahli. He had previously enjoyed great success in Europe with RB Salzburg, winning the Austrian double of the league and cup. In 2023 he made a surprise move to the Saudi Pro League. 

According to Sky, he is now ready to return to Europe despite being under contract until 2027, and there is concrete interest from the Premier League and the Bundesliga. Eintracht Frankfurt is one of his suitors.

Riera joined Frankfurt less than 100 days ago as Dino Toppmöller's successor and quickly got to work, though his reputation as a difficult character preceded him. That was the consensus among those who knew him when Eintracht signed him from NK Celje in February.

Within months that prediction has been borne out: Riera is reported to have clashed with several key players, most recently striker Jonathan Burkardt. 

Dozens of questionable internal tales about his handling of the squad have surfaced since his appointment. "It's all nonsense," he ranted recently at a now-infamous press conference that exposed a poor grasp of media relations. On the pitch, his results are underwhelming. His average of 1.33 points per Bundesliga game—four wins, four draws, four defeats—is unremarkable, and though the side remains in contention for the Conference League, one point adrift of SC Freiburg, the consensus is that a split is now the most prudent move.

Riera himself adopted a defiant stance ahead of Friday's match against BVB. "I'm not worrying about my future; that's not important. All that matters is the team and picking up points in these two games," the 44-year-old said on Thursday. But he knows "exactly how things work in this job. I tell myself: Albert, if you don't win enough, then someone else will. That's just how it is."