Lyon Coach Pierre Sage Departs Amid Negotiations with Paulo Fonseca

Pierre Sage has been sacked as head coach of Olympique Lyonnais following a disappointing start to 2025, with Portuguese coach Paulo Fonseca reportedly in negotiations to take over.

According to a report by L'Equipe, Pierre Sage is no longer the head coach of Olympique Lyonnais, a Ligue 1 club. This development comes after the team's underwhelming 1-1 draw against Nantes on Sunday.

🔚 Full time at the Beaujoire.

1-1 #FCNOL pic.twitter.com/K5TL4jyve9

— Olympique Lyonnais 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@OL_English) January 26, 2025

The report suggests that Lyon's owner, John Textor, has been in negotiations with Paulo Fonseca, a Portuguese coach, for the past ten days. Fonseca, 51, previously managed Lille for two years and had a brief stint at Milan earlier this season before being sacked.

Lyon has experienced a challenging start to 2025, with a series of disappointing results. The team was eliminated from the cup by fifth-tier club Bourgoin-Jallieu and suffered a stoppage-time defeat to Montpellier. Additionally, they have had three consecutive draws against Toulouse, Fenerbahce, and Nantes.

🚨🔴🔵 Olympique Lyon have sacked the manager Pierre Sage with immediate effect.

John Textor, working on new manager as Paulo Fonseca is among options as @hugoguillemet reports. pic.twitter.com/bQ04Zd8HsO

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 27, 2025

Despite their current sixth-place standing in Ligue 1, Lyon is poised to qualify directly for the Europa League's final 16. However, the departure of Sage may not sit well with the team's dressing room, as the players reportedly appreciate the coach who took over in December 2023 and led the team to a remarkable comeback, avoiding relegation to Ligue 2.

Sage's promotion to head coach in December 2023 followed the departure of Fabio Grosso. During his tenure, Sage managed to turn the team's fortunes around, earning him admiration from the players. His sudden dismissal may, therefore, come as a surprise to many.