Ligue 1: Christophe Galtier "did not come to Nice for the money"

Presented at a press conference on Tuesday, the new Nice coach Christophe Galtier said he was "very happy", "very proud" and convinced of having made "the best choice" possible by joining a club and a project of which he "knows" ambitions".

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How do you explain that your arrival took so long to materialize?

Christophe Galtier:

That the negotiations took a long time, that's normal.

I let the Nice management manage the file.

The most important thing is that I am here now.

I had made the decision quite early to leave Losc at the end of the last season, regardless of the end result of the championship.

Then I looked at the opportunities, the projects.

I quickly thought that Ineos's could match me in terms of what I can do and what I want to do.

The discussions were apparently tense ...

I understand that there was tension.

I am not here to deny everything that has been said during the past few weeks.

I am very proud to have taken Lille to the title of champion of France after three extraordinary years.

It's the success of a team and I also have a thought for Gérard Lopez.

You go from Lille, champion of France, to a club that will not play in the European Cup.

How do you explain this choice?

Going from the Champions League to Nice can be challenging, I understand that.

But I am convinced that it is the best choice and it corresponds to what I want to do with my career.

What are the club's ambitions and have you had any assurances about the recruitment?

I am not a coach who asks for guarantees.

And I'm not here for the money.

Otherwise, I would no longer be in Europe.

I know the ambitions and we will work to have a competitive workforce.

I thank Jim and Bob Ratcliffe, they are also ambitious men.

I was not given a specific objective.

A championship, the podium, is played on micro-details, I am in a good position to say it.

Concretely, what convinced you about the Nice project?

In Nice, we do not start with a blank sheet.

There is infrastructure, structure and potential.

Last season the team played in the Europa League, which uses up a lot of energy and promotes injuries.

And there were some incredible ones in Nice during a difficult season.

The club had recruited young people with great potential.

But it's always a team that wins.

What can you say to the fans, who are hoping for a better season than last year?

I know this fervor of the supporters, this ardor. They are on hold, there may also be frustration from last season, between the results and the Covid. I want to tell them that I am very happy, very proud and very anxious to meet them. And that we will ensure that their team expresses itself with a lot of energy, as much as what they give off when they are at the stadium.