Official | Rennes’ Nemanja Matić completes Lyon switch | OneFootball

Nemanja Matić (35) has officially joined Olympique Lyonnais from Stade Rennais, both clubs have announced.  The Serbian international was pushing for an exit from Brittany after only five months spent with Les Rouge et Noir. The former Manchester United midfielder went AWOL during the winter break, after acknowledging his failure to enrol his children in an international school, because no international school exists in Rennes.

Olympique Lyonnais, who coincidentally lost at home 3-2 to Rennes yesterday with Matić watching from the stands, have reportedly paid Rennes €2.6m for the Premier League winner with Chelsea. Matić has signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Les Gones, who were in serious need of an upgrade for their struggling midfield. Lyon may not be done in that regard considering they are courting Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Pierre-Emile Højbjerg.

In their transfer announcement, Lyon have taken a slight dig at Rennes with a train emoji, because Matić was photographed leaving Rennes last December at Rennes’ central station. Meanwhile, Rennes published a video mocking the Serbian midfielder by removing a portrait of him that hang at the city’s museum. Even if Matić’s stint at Rennes proved disastrous for the club’s image, Stade Rennais managed to sell the Serbian midfielder for a bigger price than they bought him for in the first place from AS Roma last summer.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval