Lyon coach on Anthony Lopes’ departure: “It would be a problem if he had a bad attitude”
The Portuguese goalkeeper has played almost 500 games for the French club, where he has been since he was eight years old, and is now out of the squad; Pierre Sage says it is not his decision
Anthony Lopes , European champion with Portugal in 2016, was Lyon ‘s first-choice goalkeeper for more than 10 years. Last summer he asked to leave, but due to a lack of offers he ended up staying, with a contract until the end of the season, but was dropped from the team.
Lyon coach Pierre Sage gave an extensive interview on Wednesday to the After Foot programme on French television channel RMC Sport, addressing the situation of Anthony Lopes .
“The decision was made to continue as we were, with Anthony Lopes, until the end of the season, on the condition that the level he had before Christmas could be maintained. Lucas [Perri] gradually integrated into the group and the club decided to invest in him and give ‘Antho’ another role. It’s not even my decision on the starting eleven. It depends on many things. I’m the one who makes the team play, but there are other things that are imposed, from a contractual point of view, in particular. We had the case of Rayan Cherki, who couldn’t play until he renewed his contract,” he revealed.
«Do your best»
“It would be a problem if he had a bad attitude. However, he has the respect of his teammates and the club. He says loud and clear that he loves the club and makes sure that the others work in good conditions, even if he has low expectations. When he is in a training session he gives his best to make sure that the session goes as well as possible,” he added.
«It’s a difficult situation, he’s been at the club for several years and he shouldn’t compromise the image we have of him, because despite everything that’s said we have a good image of him», he concluded.
