Argentinian coach Marcelo Bielsa denounced this Friday that he was “harassed” by the Lille administration for his resignation in 2017, a case being settled in a labor court in that city in northern France.
Bielsa, the current coach of England’s Leeds United, said this Friday via a video conference in the trial, which was seen as punishment on 2 July, according to French media.
In his statement, the technician said, “What I want to explain is the intimidation I suffered in the months of September and October, before my dismissal, to destabilize me and push me to resign.”
Bielsa also accused the board of “sabotaging my management and hindering my work and lowering my authority”.
With a long career in Argentina, Spain and France behind him, the now 65-year-old coach started his career with the Northern club in July 2017, with a two-year contract, but was suspended in November and formally terminated in December. when Lille was penultimate in the French league.
The club, then chaired by the Spanish-Luxembourg businessman Gérard López, tried to show that the dismissal was justified (due to alleged professional negligence on the part of Bielsa) because he had not paid the contract in full.
Instead, the technician wants to get paid for his entire contract, for which he is demanding about 19 million euros, according to French media.
Haunted by Lille’s indebtedness, despite being the leader of the French league, López sold the club to a Luxembourg investment fund last December, also leaving the presidency.