In January 2026, a series of reports began circulating in the football community, suggesting that Robert Moreno, the former manager of the Spanish national team, Monaco, and Granada, had been dismissed from his role at Russian club FC Sochi due to an addiction to artificial intelligence.
The rumors allege that Moreno outsourced his tactical, logistical, and transfer decisions to the AI chatbot, ChatGPT, leading to a breakdown in team discipline and poor results.
Former FC Sochi Director Andrei Orlov in an interview with a Russian media alleged that Moreno used ChatGPT to plan a travel schedule for an away match in Khabarovsk that made players remain awake for 28 consecutive hours. According to Orlov, the coaching staff became unsettled by Moreno’s rigid adherence to AI-generated training routines.
“An additional tool, why not? But for Moreno, ChatGPT eventually became one of his primary tools. I checked the plan and was shocked; there was no sleep scheduled. We couldn’t understand why we had to wake up at five in the morning and train at seven” – Orlov
Daily Tech also gathered that Moreno used AI to rank potential strikers based on data from Wyscout, leading to the signing of Artur Shushenachev, a decision labeled by the club as a failure.
Moreno’s tenure at Sochi ended in September 2025 after the team secured only one point in seven matches, resulting in relegation.
What is Moreno saying?
Robert Moreno has denied the allegations laid before him by issuing formal statements to news outlets like Marca and La Razón. He argues that the narrative of him being “fired for AI” is an oversimplification of a standard departure following a period of poor on-field performance.
Moreno stated that while he utilizes modern analysis software, such as GPS tracking and video scouting platforms, human judgment remains the final authority in his work.
“I have never used ChatGPT or any AI to prepare for matches, decide line-ups, or choose players. That is completely false. Technology helps process information faster, but the sporting decisions are always made by the coaching staff” – Moreno
The former Spain boss stated that the spread of these stories was due to a personal fallout with Orlov, emphasizing that his career began in data and video analysis long before the current AI boom. He stated that his departure from Sochi was a mutual agreement between him and the club hierarchy.
