Besiktas, one of Turkey's top three successful clubs, has terminated the contract of their manager, Portuguese Fernando Santos, as announced by the club in a statement on Saturday.

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"We have parted ways with our manager Fernando Santos. We thank him for his services and wish him luck in the future," the club stated in a brief announcement on their website.

Until the end of the season, the former assistant coach Serdar Topraktepe will assume the role of head coach, the note indicates.

Santos, former manager of several Portuguese and Greek clubs, as well as the national teams of Greece, Portugal, and most recently Poland, took charge of Besiktas last January.

Under his leadership, the Istanbul team has had an unsuccessful season and currently sits in fourth place in the Turkish Süper Lig, four points behind third-placed Trabzonspor, but 36 points behind leaders Galatasaray.

His last match, played on Saturday against Samsunspor, ended in a 1-1 draw.