Lyon has officially announced Paulo Fonseca as their new head coach.
Fonseca takes over from Pierre Sage, who was let go despite helping the club emerge from a crisis last season and keeping them in contention for a Champions League position this year.
Sage’s termination followed a 1-1 draw against Nantes in Ligue 1, leaving many fans and analysts baffled. After guiding Lyon from the bottom of the standings to a sixth-place finish last season, he had quickly become a beloved figure among supporters.
Reports earlier in the week indicated that Lyon and Fonseca had finalized an agreement.
Fonseca’s debut match as head coach is set to be against Marseille in the French league on Sunday, according to the club.
He previously won the Portuguese Supercup with Porto in 2013 and the Portuguese Cup with Braga in 2016. His coaching stint at Shakhtar Donetsk saw him achieve three league-cup doubles in consecutive years (2017, 2018, 2019) along with the Ukrainian Supercup in 2017.
From 2019 to 2021, Fonseca managed AS Roma before moving to Lille in June 2022, where he excelled in creating one of the top offensive teams in France despite a constrained budget. However, his recent tenure at AC Milan did not go as planned, with only 12 victories in 24 matches across all competitions. He has been without a managerial role since his dismissal by AC Milan on December 30.
Currently, after 19 matches this season, Lyon finds itself in sixth place in the league, just four points shy of a Champions League spot, and it has also reached the knockout stage of the Europa League.
Despite these achievements, the decision to part ways with Sage was described by Lyon as a “sporting choice,” as the team struggled against prominent rivals and averaged fewer points per game this season.
John Textor, an American businessman who owns Lyon, personally visited the club this week. He has maintained ongoing communication with Fonseca over the past few years and previously sought to bring him on board. Fonseca has signed a contract that will keep him with Lyon until the end of June 2027.
Lyon is optimistic that Fonseca can enhance the team’s defensive capabilities and boost its competitiveness against the top four in Ligue 1. The club aims for consistent Champions League qualification and seeks to challenge Paris Saint-Germain’s dominance in French football.
“Paulo Fonseca and his staff will be responsible for initiating a new chapter and elevating the club to the highest level in the latter half of the season, with the primary objective of qualifying for next year’s Champions League,” Lyon stated.
