MANAGER Lucien Favre has been sacked by Ligue 1 club Nice following defeat to third-tier Le Puy-en-Velay in the Coupe de France.
Nice, and its host of former Premier League stars, were beaten after Mohamed Ben Fredj’s 3rd-minute goal proved to be enough for the French minnows to claim victory.
The Ligue 1 side announced the decision to part ways with the Swiss manager along with the statement: “Lucien Favre is no longer OGC Nice manager, as his time in charge of the first team comes to an end.
“As the two parties now go their separate ways, everyone at the club would like to show him the utmost respect.”
Favre leaves the club 11th in the table, having only managed to pick up five wins in their 17 games in the league this season.
The job will be taken over in the short term by Didier Digard, and he will have to find the best way to use the former Premier League players in the best way possible.
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Last summer, Nice signed Aaron Ramsey, Ross Barkley, Kasper Schmeichel, Nicolas Pepe, Joe Bryan and Mads Bech Sorensen.
They added to the two pre-existing English top-flight players in former Southampton midfielders Mario Lemina and Morgan Schneiderlin.
Nice’s owner is Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is worth a staggering £15 billion.
He has also been interested in buying Premier League giants Manchester United, which was put for sale in November last year.
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Ratcliffe was a Red Devils fans in his childhood and would be up for becoming involved in the club.
At the time, a spokesperson said: “If the club is for sale, Jim is definitely a potential buyer.
“If something like this was possible, we would be interested in talking with a view to long-term ownership.
“This is not about the money that has been spent or not spent. Jim is looking at what can be done now and, knowing how important the club is to the city, it feels like the time is right for a reset.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
