DailyTransfer

Mercato: Lorient retains Le Bris and warns Nice

09/06/23 09:06 by Fabien Borne

In a press release issued at 1.34 am last night, FC Lorient announced their intention not to release their coach Régis Le Bris, who has reportedly already reached an agreement with OGC Nice, according to RMC Sport. The Merlus have also threatened to take Nice to FIFA and the LFP.

Lorient vs Nice, episode 2. After the interminable Terem Moffi soap opera, which saw him leave Lorient for Nice this winter for almost €30m, the two clubs are now at loggerheads over Régis Le Bris, who extended his contract last March until 2027 and now wants to sign for Nice, with whom he has already reached an agreement, according to RMC Sport (other sources confirm that no agreement has yet been reached).

In a lengthy press release published overnight, Lorient informs that its coach Régis Le Bris has asked his president Loïc Féry to terminate his contract and let him go free. "After consultation with the Board of Directors, the club's key players and partners, FC Lorient has decided not to release him from his contract," the Lorient club said.

FC Lorient also referred to the "possible approach" of OGC Nice for its coach, and announced that it had reminded the Côte d'Azur club in writing of its obligation to respect article 211 of the LFP's Administrative Regulations. "The club is also considering taking the matter to the LFP and FIFA to denounce OGC Nice's repeated practices and request sanctions against the club," adds Lorient.

"They behaved badly in January. I received an apology from the head of Ineos regarding the Terem Moffi case. They've done it again today, and acted in the same way with RC Lens. In fact, I spoke to Jean-Claude Blanc (new CEO of Ineos Sport) this evening, and he assured me that he understood that we didn't want to release the current staff," confided FC Lorient president Loïc Féry.

"We're not open to discussing a transfer for him".

Finally, the Lorient manager assured us in person that he intends to keep his coach: "Régis Le Bris is a remarkable man. He does a superb job. I understand that he's in demand, but he's under contract. My responsibility is to protect the interests of FC Lorient. The whole FCL institution and myself are counting on him. We haven't contacted any other coaches. We're not open to discussing a transfer for him. We're ambitious and we're giving ourselves the means to aim even higher next season."

After this major clarification and warning, it will be interesting to see how Nice react. According to Mohamed Toubache-Ter, Régis Le Bris has a €5m release clause in his contract with Lorient. If Nice wants him, they'll have to pay that sum.

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