‘A market opportunity for the owner’ – Pierre Sage explains Lyon sacking | OneFootball

In an interview with The Athletic, Pierre Sage outlines the reason he believes he was sacked from Olympique Lyonnais.

Sage was released from his role as Lyon’s head coach, following a dip in form in the new year, when Lyon lost to amateur side FC Bourgoin-Jallieu in the Coupe de France and then drew with FC Toulouse, Fenerbahçe, and FC Nantes.

Despite the run of disappointing results, it was a surprising decision. Lyon sat sixth in the league, only four points off the Champions League qualification spots. The problem, Sage states, was that an opportunity had opened up for Lyon’s owner, John Textor.

Paulo Fonseca, after being sacked by AC Milan only six months into his contract, was back on the market. “The decision was a market opportunity for the owner,” Sage explains. “The name of Paulo Fonseca against the name Pierre Sage gave [Textor] more guarantees to maybe find a new investor, to improve the club in other ways too.”

He continues, “He wanted this coach for a long time, and he had the opportunity to get him, so he convinced him to come, and they did a deal for two and a half years. But I have a lot of respect for the owner because he gave me my chance.”

Textor had previously in an interview with Canal+, explained that his decision to sack Sage was because he had lost faith in the manager’s ability to secure Champions League football.

GFFN | Nick Hartland