Less than a year after his appointment as the coach of the Gym, the Marseille-born technician is likely to leave the Côte d’Azur club. The OGC Nice management already has several names in mind to succeed him.
A few weeks ago, tensions within the Gym were revealed by several media sources. The Julien Fournier-Christophe Galtier relationship has reportedly come to an end due to several disagreements over transfers. Jim Ratcliffe and his management seem to have made their decision, and it’s Fournier who should leave Nice after more than 10 years of service. But in the end, it seems that both men may soon no longer be associated with Nice.
Indeed, even though Galtier was preferred to the sporting director, the coach who won the French championship with Lille in 2021 no longer seems to be the consensus choice. The cause: Poor performance in the Coupe de France final and a narrow qualification in the Conference League. Christophe Galtier has requested several restructurations within the club, which he deems necessary to advance the Côte d’Azur club. Even if his requests were implemented, Galtier would still wish to leave the Gym to join a club eager to sign him: Paris Saint-Germain.
With Mauricio Pochettino’s certain dismissal, the capital’s club is in search of a coach capable of successfully leading a revised sports project. The 55-year-old technician is not the only contender for the position, as 3 Portuguese coaches are also being considered: José Mourinho (AS Roma), Ruben Amorim (Sporting Portugal), and Sérgio Conceição (Porto). If PSG prefers one of these Portuguese options over the French coach, Galtier might still leave the Côte d’Azur.
To replace him, the management has started to take action. They have three coaches on their radar: Marco Rose, recently released by Dortmund, Vincent Kompany, coming off a challenging first experience at Anderlecht, and Lucien Favre, a former member of the Côte d’Azur who has not been on a bench for more than two years.
Online, Azurine supporters have already expressed their opinions on these three options, and for them, Lucien Favre should return to Nice. For many, the 2016/17 season of the Gym is one of the best in recent decades, marked by a third place in Ligue 1 and an impressive level of play. His second season was a bit more challenging, leading him to decide to join Dortmund at the end of the campaign. Recently approached to take over his former club, Borussia Monchengladbach, Favre refused but would be open to returning to the Gym, as he has always shown his commitment to the city, the club, and its supporters.
“Leaving Nice was hard. I enjoyed it here, as did my wife. It’s an extraordinary living environment. Nice, the region is magnificent… We would be pleased to meet the president again, as well as our wives, as they get along very well…”
“The Nice supporters are magnificent. They’ve been there all the time. They create an amazing atmosphere. They never let up throughout the match.”
If his return to the club were to be confirmed, it wouldn’t bode well for Julien Fournier’s future, as the two men previously had a difficult relationship.
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