Jean-Pierre Rivère ‘tried to bring back’ Hatem Ben Arfa to Nice in January | OneFootball

According to Nice-Matin, Jean-Pierre Rivère attempted to bring Hatem Ben Arfa back to OGC Nice in January, a decade after their successful spell together, but the move did not materialise.

Rivère returned in December to steady the club he had previously presided over. He made a winter-window push to sign the 39-year-old playmaker, who lit up Nice in 2015-16 with 18 goals and 7 assists in 37 matches.

Ben Arfa has been without a club for more than four years and has not played since leaving Lille in 2022. He has not publicly announced his retirement and now mainly plays padel.

Rivère sounded him out with a Coupe de France final in mind, an objective Nice ultimately reached, and the idea is said to have appealed to the former fans’ favourite. The pair are understood to have stayed in contact.

The reunion did not happen, with resistance from Claude Puel, his coach a decade ago, cited among the factors.

Source: L'Équipe

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