Gianfranco Zola has been sacked as coach of Qatari club Al-Arabi, a spokesman said on Monday.
Zola signed a two-year contract with the club last year, but the spokesman told AFP: "Our president has said he is going to change the coach."
Zola will be succeeded by Uruguayan Gerardo Pelusso after the club finished eighth in the league, which has 14 teams -- the same position as the previous season.
The decision to replace him comes after a new president, Sheikh Khalifa bin Jabr Al-Thani, took over at the club.
Former Chelsea star Zola had been linked with the vacant managerial job at Nottingham Forest earlier this summer and could now return to English football.
Speaking in November, he said: "My dream, let us say my ambition, is to be Chelsea manager some day in the future.
"However, I realise that I need to improve as a manager if I want to get there, and I am working hard to achieve my goal.