Christophe Galtier steps down as Lille head coach amidst rumours of move to OGC Nice

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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Christophe Galtier stepped down as head coach of Lille just two days after they won the French league title for the first time since 2010/2011.The 54-year-old helped Lille secure their first Ligue 1 championship in a decade on Sunday, finishing one point ahead of Paris St-Germain.

LOSC Lille and Christopher Galtier have had a terrific season to remember with the manager leading the club to their first league title in a decade. Galtier signed in 2017 taking over from Marcelo Bielsa and saved the club from the brink of relegation in 2018 before leading them to a second-place finish a season later. Owing to the likes of experienced players like Jose Fonte, Burak Yilmaz, Renato Sanches and new signee Jonathan David, Lille managed to win the impossible, dethroning serial winners Paris St Germain (PSG).

The announcement came after Lille took part in an open-top bus parade in the centre of the city to celebrate the title win with fans on Tuesday. He had been expected to leave after new owners gained club control midway through the season and has been linked with a move to OGC Nice and Napoli since. The 54-year-old had a lot to say about his time with the club and admitted that he has already informed the club's president, Olivier Letang. He also added that he's proud of his time with Lille.

"I made my decision. I informed my president, Olivier Letang, after having listened to him a lot this morning, that I was going to leave LOSC. Or that I was stopping with LOSC, I do not know quite what term to use. I just feel strongly that I have done my time here. That four-year cycle is long enough for a coach. So yes, it's only been five months that I collaborate every day with Olivier Letang and five months is not a lot for a collaboration," Galtier said, reported the BBC.

"Having spent four years here, I feel inside that it's time to leave this beautiful club, this magnificent club. My decision is not linked to the final ranking of the team, if we had finished fourth or seventh I would have made the same decision. I do not want to leave on a success. I am leaving because I have decided that after four years it is time to leave. I spent eight and a half years at Saint-Etienne, including seven and a half at the head of the team, it was good.

"I'm leaving Lille with an incredible result, I need something else. I don't want to fall into a routine, into something classic, as I experienced at one point in Saint-Etienne. Wear and tear, always being in the same environment," he added.

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