The Saudi federation "accepted the termination of the contract" of Hervé Renard "at his request", while he was under contract since 2019 and until 2027, officially announced the Saudi national team on Twitter, specifying that a "legal agreement has been reached to terminate the contract between the two parties".

He had a release clause of around several million euros.

"Hervé Renard resigned and the Saudi federation accepted it. The friendly match against Bolivia (lost 2-1) tonight is his last as Saudi coach," an internal source told AFP on Tuesday night.

Four months before the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, the technician should therefore take over from Corinne Diacre, landed on March 9 against the backdrop of an internal sling led by several executives of the France Team.

The French Football Federation had been suspended for several days in negotiations between Renard and the Saudi federation. Time was running out as the announcement of the list of players selected for the April gathering is expected Thursday or Friday.

"We tried to dissuade him, but he was determined to go back to his country and lead a national team there. We can't stop him from achieving his dream," the source continued.

He will certainly not be able to claim the same income with the French Federation... His salary at the head of the "Green Falcons" was ten times higher than that received by Deacon, according to estimates in the sports press.

List expected at the end of the week

The former defender, double winner of the African Cup of Nations, should therefore be preferred to several candidates including Jocelyn Gourvennec, auditioned by a commission appointed in recent days within the FFF to carry out the recruitment process, but who then declined the proposal.

Renowned in men's football, where multiple international experiences (Zambia, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Saudi Arabia) have enriched his CV... Hervé Renard has no experience leading a women's team.

With only four preparation matches left - against Colombia on April 7, Canada on April 11, Ireland on July 6 and Australia on July 14 - before the Blues enter the World Cup on July 23 in Sydney against Jamaica, Hervé Renard, if he is appointed coach, will have to get in tune with a world he knows little.

The "playboy" image sometimes sent back by the "blond wizard" and his muscular methods - such as his memorable half-time speech against Argentina in Qatar - are not commonplace in women's D1, where the majority of French internationals play.

Hervée Renard on November 22, 2022 against Poland in Doha © Khaled DESOUKI / AFP / Archives

The 9th coach in the history of Les Bleues could be helped for this mission by a staff more experienced than him in women's football, a valuable asset both in physical preparation and in the study of opponents.

The name of Eric Blahic, former assistant of Deacon appreciated by several players, has come up insistently in the debates of recent days.

If he is nominated, Renard's priority, before the announcement of the list expected at the end of the week, will be to convince the rebels to return to the selection. Captain Wendie Renard and strikers Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Kadidiatou Diani had clearly announced their withdrawal from the Blues, conditioning their return to "profound changes" in the "management".

He could also choose to recall Lyon striker Eugenie Le Sommer or PSG goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi, long dismissed by Corinne Diacre.

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