Florian Maurice, here with Nabil Fékir in 2018, will leave OL for Stade Rennais. - R.Lafabregue / AFP

  • The head of the OL recruitment cell is expected at Stade Rennais where he will be appointed sports director.
  • In the shadow of Juninho in Lyon, the former striker surprised when he left his hometown.
  • Those who know him praise his qualities as a worker and his network. And think it can help Rennes to dream bigger.

A talented young coach. A new president full of ambition. A promising workforce. And a billionaire shareholder. Admit that the new CV of Stade Rennais has a face. Add a European class sports director and you will get the new status of the last winner of the Coupe de France. In a few years, the nice loser of Ligue 1 has changed in scale, it is no longer a secret. The imminent arrival of Florian Maurice in the Rennes organization chart confirms this. While he was in charge of recruiting Olympique Lyonnais, the former French striker had been in the shadow of Juninho since the Brazilian's return to the club. He would have decided to leave his heart club to join Brittany. A choice that may surprise but confirms the ambitions of Florian Maurice. As much as those of Stade Rennais.

Reputed as a hard worker, can the future right-hand man of the new president Nicolas Holveck allow the current third in Ligue 1 to settle permanently among the biggest French clubs? Those who know him well think so. "It is an extraordinary person whom you recover. Lyon really loses someone, ”says Gérard Bonneau. The former official of the OL academy is full of praise for the one he saw disembarking as a youngster at the training center. “We forgot that before being a good recruiter, he was an excellent player. He is passionate about football but above all someone very humble. He has character, he is determined. He had the makings of a great player and he has the makings to be a great man of football ”, assures the one who officiates today at Servette Geneva. In 1998, Aimé Jacquet made it his number 9 with the Blues, before finally choosing Guivarc'h.

"One of the best French recruiters"

Associated with Julien Stéphan, Florian Maurice could quickly impose his paw on recruitment and allow Rennes to benefit from his enormous network. "He's someone who moves a lot, who never stops," continues Gérard Bonneau. “In my eyes, he is one of the best French recruiters. He is very honest, honest and hardworking. If he comes, he will form a high-level triumvirate with Julien Stéphan and Nicolas Holveck, ”says sports agent Laurent Schmitt.

Florian Maurice in Rennes makes you dream anyway

- Max ❤️🖤 (@MachotMaxime) April 14, 2020

The arrival of the former attacker would especially fill a void. In Rennes, there has been no more sports director since 2013 and the departure of Pierre Dreossi. "In the organization chart, I like it very much, it clarifies decision-making," says Fabrice Pinel, founder of the highly documented Rouge Mémoire, that's how big clubs work. A status which seems to claim the club of François Pinault, who did not hesitate to thank Olivier Létang while his team was on the podium in Ligue 1. "Ben Arfa and Nzonzi, we would never have had them without him. The arrival of Florian Maurice is part of this logic ”.

"It's going to be a very very high level sports director"

If he agreed to leave his hometown to cross France, it is because he "found a major project", according to his friend Gérard Bonneau. “We had to dare to approach it and Rennes did it with a real project. It's going to be a very very high level sports director, ”he promises. “He will bring his network, his experience. Rennes is a club that wants to grow. He needs a man like Florian Maurice, who comes out strong for many years in a big club, "says Jean-Marc Chanelet, former Lyonnais and recently landed from the recruitment cell of FC Nantes.

Married and father of three, Florian Maurice has still not been formalized by Stade Rennais, probably due to the delicate period of confinement. Olympique Lyonnais also did not communicate on his departure but is already working to replace it. In Brittany, we can't wait to see it land.

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  • Julien Stéphan
  • OL
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  • League 1
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