Reacting to Bordeaux’s home defeat to Brest this afternoon, club president Gérard Lopez has criticised the players’ attitude after giving up a half-time lead.

His words transcribed in L’Équipe, the owner lamented an ongoing issue at the club with regard to the players’ willingness to fight for results.

“The players’ attitude is unacceptable. We are in complete comfort, and that’s what penalised us today. We again showed our arrogance. It was already the case at Metz and it’s started again today. It shows that there is an issue which we are going to resolve together.”

“The problem is not a question of talent. We just have to show more desire on the pitch. We have to show desire to win, to fight, to run into challenges, to get hurt ourselves but also hurt the opponent.”

“Defeats are always possible, and we had a few which we didn’t deserve. But a defeat like today’s isn’t acceptable at all. Everyone needs to take a good look at themselves quickly. We have to show pride in order to honour the Girondins de Bordeaux badge.”

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In speaking with L’Équipe, Lyon president Jean Michel Aulas (72) discussed the departure of club legend turned sporting director, Juninho Pernambucano.

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Juninho is going to leave. How does this make you feel?“I’m sorry on a human level. He’s a quality person… He wants to rest and look to become a coach instead. But Lyon will always welcome him when he wants to come back. He’s one of those people who have participated in several victories, so we’re not going to take a negative position towards him at all.”

Do you regret his decision?“Yes, it’s regrettable, and I would’ve liked to have been warned beforehand… However, it doesn’t change our feelings towards Juni and he will always be at home here.”

Was the difficult relationship with [director of football] Vincent Ponsot the reason for his weariness?“Juni was tired, you could see it… He wasn’t happy, you could tell… he was struggling to take on a role in a large organization… It didn’t work, but that doesn’t make Juni a bad person, he’s a very good person and we will do everything to keep him close to OL.”

Speaking to L’Équipe, Lille centre-back José Fonte (37) explained he took a pay cut to stay at Lille for this season and he hopes to stay in Lille for next season too but is keen for his future to be decided soon. 

Can you tell us why and how you extended so late at Lille for this season last summer?“We’d spoken with the president in February-March, there was a common desire to extend. He gave me the opportunity to continue… I thought I could keep my previous contract as it was but, in the end, I understood the president’s decision and why that was impossible. I was happy to continue, with 30% less salary perhaps, but I feel good here. I believe in our project. There was the Champions League too, that was one of the main reasons, and the geographical proximity to my family [in London]. It was the best compromise.”

Will you be at Lille next season?“I’m calm. I try to be good on the pitch. If so, of course, everything will happen. But I can’t wait until the end of the season. I want to know if the club wants to continue with me or not so I can talk about it with my family – my career plan. I need to be sure in January, February at the latest. If the management takes a different path, there will be no problem but I want to prepare. I want to play another season, here or elsewhere, that’s for sure.”

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After the removal of Claude Puel as coach, Saint-Étienne have named former defender and club legend Loïc Perrin (36) as their new Sporting Coordinator.

“Under the direction of Jean-François Soucasse, the Executive Chairman, Loïc Perrin will work in close collaboration with Samuel Rustem, Deputy General Manager in charge of sports activities,” explained a club statement. “The man with 470 matches in a Saint-Étienne jersey will be tasked with applying his experience, his perfect knowledge of the club and professional football in the service of Saint-Etienne’s sporting strategy.”

Perrin’s first task will be to aid in choosing a new manager after Puel’s departure, with L’Équipe reporting that former Toulouse and Caen coach Pascal Dupraz is the current front runner for the post.

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NICE – 0

Walter Benítez, 5 – Made one excellent save from Sissoko in the first half and was perhaps Nice’s most effective player overall despite the score line.

Jordan Lotomba, 4

Jean-Clair Todibo, 4 – Fortunate to get away with an ill-advised challenge to concede the penalty which was overturned by VAR and was unable to hold a young back line together in the first half with Strasbourg easily on top.

Flavius Daniliuc, 2 – Couldn’t handle Ajorque’s physicality at all and was hauled off at half time, he was lucky not to be embarrassed as Ajorque robbed him of possession and put Diallo in just before the break.

Melvin Bard, 5

Pablo Rosario, 4

Mario Lemina, 3

Justin Kluivert, 5

Calvin Stengs, 4

Andy Delort, 3 – Quiet for long spells and could only produce an awful weak finish in the first half when completely free and one-on-one with Sels.

Kasper Dolberg, 3

Others: Thuram 5, Dante 4, Atal 6, Gouiri 6, Guessand 5.

STRASBOURG – 3 (Ajorque 21)

Matz Sels, 6

Lucas Perrin, 6

Alexander Djiku, 6

Gerzino Nyamsi, 6

Frédéric Guilbert, 7

Anthony Caci, 5

Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, 6

Ibrahima Sissoko, 7 – Subbed early after a booking but was Strasbourg’s driving force in a dominant first half. Although he should score when halted by Benitez one-on-one, he provided a deftly weighted first time through ball for Ajorque’s opener.

Adrien Thomasson, 7 – Supported the front two with a silky yet intense display and rounded off a superb win with a lovely dink over Benitez for 3-0.

Ludovic Ajorque, 7 – It was his flicked header that created a major first half chance for Sissoko before he produced a clinical finish for the opener. It was he who outmuscled Daniliuc and threaded in Diallo to win the penalty which was eventually overturned by VAR. Nice couldn’t handle him for long periods.

Habib Diallo, 6 – A little on the fringes at times despite a bold first half display from his side and should score before the break but scooped over from close range. However, he produced a cute flicked finish for the second and played in Thomasson to secure the points for the visitors late on.

Others: Prcić 5, Gameiro 5, Lienard 5.

Ligue 1 21/22 – Round 17, 5/12/21

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With his departure from the club made official this afternoon, L’Équipe report that Claude Puel’s sacking could cost Saint-Étienne between €1.5m and €1.8m in severance pay.

As former Toulouse manager Pascal Dupraz prepares to take the reins with the club rock bottom of Ligue 1, the club have reached an agreement to mutually end Puel’s contract.

The former Lyon and Leicester City manager had returned to his family in the south-west of France for the last nine days, since his suspension from his duties, as he waited for an agreement to be reached. Les Verts’ management were looking to avoid a situation that could end up in court, instead separating on amicable terms with Puel.

Dupraz had wanted to bring assistant Stéphane Bernard and physio Baptiste Hamid with him, although in the end only the latter will join him at ASSE. As a result, current interim Julien Sablé is expected to take up the assistant’s role.

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As reported by Foot Mercato, Saint-Étienne are interested in picking up French left-back Prosper Mendy. The 25-year-old has been a free agent since August as his contract with Norwegian club Stromsgodset came to an end.

After the arrival of Pascal Dupraz as coach, Les Verts have been looking for cost-effective options to improve and deepen their squad with the African Nations Cup set to remove many of their first-team players for several games in the new year. Vitorino Hilton, Bakary Sako and Jean-Philippe Mateta have also been mentioned as targets by the outlet.

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According to Fabrizio Romano, Newcastle United have made Lille defender Sven Botman, who will turn 22 in January, a priority January transfer window target.

However, as Romano, writing in the Guardian, explains, Lille are likely to be reluctant to sell the player mid-season with their Champions League last 16 tie against Chelsea to come as well as a hotly contested fight for European places in Ligue 1 this season.

The Premier League club would have to pay at least £30m but Lille would want closer to £40m with AC Milan also keen on Dutchman Botman who joined Lille in summer 2020 for just over £7m from Ajax.

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As reported by L’Équipe, PSG defender Sergio Ramos (35) told reporters that, having seen his new club eventually drawn against his former club Real Madrid in yesterday’s Champions League draw, he “would’ve liked to play another team.”

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“You know the love and affection that I have for Real Madrid and their supporters, but today I’m a PSG player and I’m going to give my all to help us qualify. Destiny is unpredictable… but coming back to the Bernabeu is reason to be happy as I couldn’t really say goodbye because of Covid.”

“It was difficult for me to adapt to a new country, to find a home for my family but in the locker room, everything was easier. Nasser Al-Khelaifi, Leonardo and Mauricio Pochettino made it very easy for me. The team is made up of real stars and it’s essential for us to get along for us to be competitive as a group.”

As discussed by L’Équipe, Lille’s impressive Champions League form has helped in boosting the club’s once precarious finances.

Participation in the group stages alone brought in €38.5m but qualification for the last 16 has almost doubled this total. €9.9m has been received via bonuses for the 11 points gathered in the group, €9.5m of UEFA premiums have been added plus €1m from the broadcast revenue related ‘market pool’ while €3.6m has been garnered from ticketing revenue, excluding organizational costs. The prestige tie with current champions Chelsea in the knock-out stages will help too, meaning nearly €65m will be injected into the club in total.

Meanwhile, since the club’s sale to Merlyn Partners and the departure of current Bordeaux owner Gérard Lopez, Lille’s financial concerns have eased considerably. Les Dogues have escaped sanctions from French football’s strict financial watchdog, the DNCG, on three occasions under the stewardship of president and former Rennes and PSG man Olivier Létang.

In December 2020 Merlyn told the DNCG that they’d injected €40m into the club while absorbing a large part of the debt accrued under Lopez. That allowed Lille’s squad to remain intact despite fears the club would be forced by the DNCG to make significant sales in January to balance the books. Lille, with their squad unaffected, went on to win the title.

As reported by La Voix du Nord, Lille survived two further DNCG meetings earlier this year partly thanks to a reduction of the payroll by around €12m during the summer as 16 players departed the club. The payroll now stands at €75m, noticeably down on the 2019/20 season’s €90m. Debt, meanwhile, was also reduced from €162m to €106m.

With the influx of this Champions League revenue, which could yet increase with further progress, and sales from a likely summer exodus, LOSC should have significant resources to rebuild their squad next summer.

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