Olympique Lyonnais: Sporting to pay OL €5 million to recruit Paulo Fonseca
Sporting Portugal will pay a €5 million indemnity to Olympique Lyonnais following the early termination of Paulo Fonseca's contract. Fonseca has left his role as head coach of the professional team to join the Portuguese club. The announcement was made on 4 November 2026 at 1:30 p.m.
A departure initiated by the coach and approved by management
According to the statement, Paulo Fonseca was approached “in recent days” by a club to which he is “particularly attached”, and then informed management of his wish to leave Olympique Lyonnais. The club described this decision as “unexpected” and stated that it deeply regrets it, particularly because of its timing in the middle of the season.
Faced with this wish, management considered that it was not in the club’s interest to continue a collaboration that “could no longer guarantee the total level of commitment essential to the success of the project”. It therefore acknowledged the coach’s decision, and OL thanked him for the work accomplished since his arrival.
Jorge Maciel to serve as interim until the international break
Pending the appointment of a successor, Jorge Maciel will be in charge of the professional team until the next international break. He will notably lead the squad against Real Sociedad in the Europa League, then for the trip to Brest.
Management stated that it is already working to identify the future coach. The search will focus on a profile capable of fitting into the continuity of the sporting project, with principles and demands corresponding to those developed “over the past few months”.
