OGC Nice criticise Marseille in Grégory Lorenzi saga | OneFootball

OGC Nice look to have won the race to sign former Stade Brestois sporting director Grégory Lorenzi. The Corsican even signed a contract with Le Gym but then ultimately ended up joining Olympique de Marseille, as confirmed this week.

Speaking in a mixed zone interview attended by Get French Football News, Nice co-president Jean-Pierre Rivere evoked the saga and didn’t hold back in his criticism of OM. 

Lorenzi goes back on his word and signs with OM

“We negotiated with Grégory for many long weeks so that he would come to Nice. There was also Marseille in the race. I was at the match (against OM on 26th April). At the hotel, it was agreed that on Monday morning, at the latest, we would make a decision. He (Lorenzi) phoned me on Sunday afternoon to say: ‘I have made my decision. I had a family meeting, during my parents’ 45-year wedding anniversary. I am joining you.’ I told him that I was happy. I asked him if he was sure of his decision because I understood that OM were in a different dimension. He responded: ‘You have my word. I am joining you.’ In advance, I told Florian Maurice (current SD), with whom there is great harmony,” began the Nice co-president, who confirmed that he would be leaving the club after they ensured their safety in Ligue 1 thanks to a 4-1 win over AS Saint-Étienne on Friday night.

He continued, “We took a week to sign the contract, with a clause that said that, if we were relegated to Ligue 2, there was a possibility to pull out. 15 days later, he calls me asking to see me. I read it in the press and understood that Marseille had come back into the frame. He comes to my office and says, ‘I’m sorry to do this president; it is the first time that this has happened, but I am going to go back on my word. I am choosing Marseille.’ For us, it wasn’t neutral.”

Lorenzi resigns from OGC Nice role

“I said I would call him back. I should have done it earlier, but I didn’t do it because I thought that Marseille would respect the contract that we signed with him. I told Greg that I understood, that there was pressure from OM. Marseille know full well that we have a contract with him. Despite that, they announced that Greg Lorenzi would be their new sporting director. We won’t look to retain him, but OM know that we have signed a contract and we need to be able to talk about it because this isn’t what you do. I honestly thought that Marseille were talking with him in the event that we were relegated to Ligue 2. I think that they have signed a contract with him. We will talk with OM.”

“He has resigned, but there is a notice period, and then for us, there are financial repercussions that are not negligible. The other club could have taken precautions and called us to see if we had a contract.”

GFFN | Luke Entwistle – reporting from Nice