The secrets of Evangelos Marinakis' ambitions for Nottingham Forest, Man United players start their own hunt for team news mole and Bukayo Saka's club-v-country dilemma: THE SAMI MOKBEL COLUMN
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On the banks of the Piraeus port, off the Aegean Sea, sits a quaint fish taverna called Papaioannou. The food is delicious and the service top notch. Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis, whenever he’s back in Athens, is hugely fond of the restaurant.
![[Forest have emerged as one of the stories of the season and are currently third in the top flight]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/02/11/93670485-14243605-image-a-29_1735817866756.jpg)
Marinakis demands certain standards. Papaioannou certainly meets his lofty expectations. As, too, do Nottingham Forest right now. Not that Marinakis ever doubted that the club he purchased in 2017 when they were in the Championship would fulfil his vision.
![[Nuno Espirito Santo and his players could earn lucrative bonuses for European qualification]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/02/11/93670395-14243605-image-a-25_1735817633321.jpg)
It’s why he saw fit to include European qualification bonuses in his players' contracts. It’s why head coach Nuno Espirito Santo is in line for a lucrative bounty if he can return Forest to Europe for the first time since the 1995-96 campaign, when they reached the Uefa Cup quarter-finals.
![[Marinakis' commitment to financially rewarding his staff is indicative for his own aspirations]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/02/11/93670369-14243605-image-a-24_1735817537905.jpg)
Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis' ambitions have driven the club forwards. Forest have emerged as one of the stories of the season and are currently third in the top flight. Nuno Espirito Santo and his players could earn lucrative bonuses for European qualification.
![[Marinakis' plans for 50,000-seater expansion of the City Ground are progressing]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/02/11/93670591-14243605-image-a-31_1735818214481.jpg)
Espirito Santo, who replaced Steve Cooper at the City Ground last season, was initially tasked with leading Forest to Premier League safety - a target the Portuguese achieved comfortably. But the fact his remuneration package, as Mail Sport understands it, includes a bonus for European qualification speaks volumes for Marinakis’ relentless ambition.
![[Edu, left, will assume a new role within Marinakis’ network after being lured from Arsenal]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/02/11/93670557-14243605-image-a-30_1735818084680.jpg)
