Julien Fournier has revealed that he met now Manchester United manager Erik Hen Tag four times regarding the managerial role at OGC Nice, in an interview with 90 Football.
Fournier left his role as Sporting director of Nice in the summer. His final managerial appointment at Les Aiglons was Christophe Galtier, with whom he had a difficult relationship. An alleged email from Fournier, accusing Galtier of racism was revealed by Romain Molina and RMC Sport last week, with the latter forced into defending himself from the allegations.
However, if Fournier had got his way, he may never have hired Galtier in the first place. Nice-Matin revealed last week that Ten Hag was Fournier’s first choice, and Nice’s former Sporting Director has now confirmed that he held four meetings with the Dutchman.
In an interview with 90 Football, Fournier said, “My choice ahead of Galtier was Ten Hag. We met four times. When I say met, it wasn’t to have a coffee and ask, ‘How are you?’ etc. That was the first time, but after that they were work sessions.”
Ten Hag eventually stayed at Ajax for a final league title-winning season before putting pen to paper over a long-term deal with Manchester United. Since, Nice have hired and fired Galtier and Lucien Favre. Didier Digard is in charge of the club until the end of the season, but his long-term future remains uncertain.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
