Paris (AFP)

A title and then goes: Christophe Galtier announced Tuesday his departure from Lille.

After having offered Sunday to the Mastiffs a very unexpected fourth title of champion of France, the Marseillais is a very coveted trainer.

"I am simply convinced that I have done my time here", explained the technician in an interview with the daily L'Equipe, two days after winning the title and barely 24 hours after celebrations that have gathered thousands of supporters in the streets of Lille.

"I made my decision. I informed my president, Olivier Létang, after listening to him a lot this morning (Tuesday), that I was going to leave Losc," he added.

To justify his decision, the former Saint-Etienne coach, at the helm of Losc since December 2017, said he did not want to "fall into a routine", assuring that he would have made the same choice without the new financial situation of the club northerner, who changed owners during the winter break.

"The quality of the squad for next season or the economic situation of the club are not linked to my departure. It is linked to myself. Over the last four seasons, I feel that this is the moment", continued Galtier, whose hypothesis of a departure had been mentioned for several weeks.

- Leader of men -

Arrived in the North at the end of 2017 to take over from the Argentinian Marcelo Bielsa when Lille was 18th, Galtier gave new impetus to the club to propel it to the highest step of the Ligue 1 podium in three and a half seasons, dethroning Paris SG and offering the club the fourth title of champion of France in its history.

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At 54, the coach, just elected by his peers as the best coach of the season, saw his rating soar thanks to his career in Lille, to the point of becoming one of the most popular French technicians.

Second in his first full season then fourth in the following one, stopped due to the Covid-19 pandemic when the club was in a good dynamic, he distinguished himself by his talents as a leader of men, built in the thread of a rich career as a player and coach.

A fine tactician and good communicator, the former defender ticks all the boxes of the modern technician, able to lead an entire group behind him.

From now on, his name circulates in several clubs, in France and abroad.

"I did not sign with anyone and did not get along with anyone," nevertheless explained the coach, who was under contract with the northern club until June 2022.

- Lyon, Nice or Naples?

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However, he confirmed to L'Equipe that he had been approached by "about five" clubs, including OL, Nice and Napoli, which are the three clubs that interest him.

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Nice ended the interim of Romanian Adrian Ursea, Lyon confirmed the departure of Rudi Garcia and Naples formalized that of Gennaro Gattuso, who left for Fiorentina.

In all three cases, the native of Marseille will not play the Champions League next season, a competition he would have played a second time by staying in Lille, after being eliminated in the group stage this season.

But the fact of not competing in C1 does not seem to impact his choice.

"Lyon is one of the big clubs in the Championship. Being asked by Lyon is very rewarding. The fact that it is not in the Champions League does not appeal to me more than that," he said.

Similarly, the technician underlined how much his friendly relationship with Julien Fournier, director of football for Nice, could influence his choice, welcoming the "colossal" project of Ineos, the petrochemical group that owns the Gym.

Anyway, his future will be decided in the coming days: he said he thought he could sign in one of these three teams before the end of the week.

© 2021 AFP