Paulo Fonseca signs for Sporting, a decisive departure for OL

Paulo Fonseca, the coach of Olympique Lyonnais, arrived Tuesday evening in Lisbon to sign with Sporting Portugal. He told the journalists present, “I am very happy to return to Portugal and to Sporting,” promising to elaborate on the answers in the coming days.

Journalists were waiting for him at the airport, where he answered a few questions before saying that the length of his contract, mentioned up to 2030, would be discussed later. He added, “We’ll see, we’ll have time to discuss everything,” refusing to provide further details.

Sporting dismissed on Sunday its former coach Rui Borges despite a 2‑0 victory over Casa Pia two days earlier. Fonseca, who has been at Porto, Braga and Paços de Ferreira, was quickly pressed to take over the role.

Financial impact of the departure

With gross earnings estimated at nearly €400 000 per month, OL will reduce its wage bill by around €2.8 million by June 2027. By combining the compensation paid by Sporting and the saved salaries, the Lyon club will recover or save close to €7 million.

In the meantime, interim manager Tiago Fernandes led Sporting to a 1‑0 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk in London, thanks to a goal from Issa Doumbia. Paul Fonseca will arrive accompanied by his assistant Paulo Ferreira, goalkeeper‑coach António Ferreira, fitness coach Paulo Mourão and analyst Nelson Duarte.

Jorge Maciel, his assistant in Lyon, will stay in the Rhône, while the Spaniard Carlos Vicens, former assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, is strongly tipped to take over at OL.