The sporting director Helder Esteves sacked, the coach Stéphane Masala on the departure and players who carried out a protest action Wednesday during the day of the partners... Créteil has had a very turbulent week.
On the field, this season already sounded like a small failure. Relegated from National, Créteil finished only 5th in Group B of National 2, very far (15 points) from Épinal. "The success has not been there despite a financial investment and very significant operating costs," regrets President Bassam Al Homsi, who succeeded Armand Lopes in June 2022.
With according to our information, 21 federal contracts, 51,706 euros of monthly payroll and five players at more than 3,500 euros, Créteil, had indeed put the means this season. Sixteen players who had signed for two years are under contract until 2024 and Ibrahima Seck until 2025.
But Bassam Al Homsi, an entrepreneur who runs about twenty companies, wants to "reduce the wing" for his football club. "At some point, you have to be reasonable and anticipate things," he explains. We are forced to modify the project along the way. We can no longer pay as much for the players we are going to recruit. But that's not why we won't be ambitious. »
This change in policy would be the starting point of the disagreement between the majority shareholder of Créteil (up to 60%) and Helder Esteves, in charge of recruitment. After a final stormy meeting, he was fired on Wednesday. Arrived last summer, coach Stéphane Masala, finalist of the Coupe de France 2018 with Les Herbiers against PSG, and who still had a year left on his contract, will also leave.
Regarding the action of the players during the partners' day, the president pleads "a misunderstanding". "Initially, I was told they didn't want to leave the locker room. So I went down to see them and we talked. Some wanted answers about their future. But they don't have to worry. We will meet those at the end of their contract and for others under contract, such as Seck or Araujo, we will respect our commitments. After our dialogue, everything returned to normal. They went out, they played and they were able to meet the partners at the clubhouse buffet. Honestly, there is no fire at the lake. »
President brushes off rumors of interference
Yet in Créteil, some evoke a presidential desire to impose his son Adrien, midfielder of the reserve (Regional 1), at the club for three years, and who played 13 minutes in N2 during the last match of the season last Saturday against Haguenau (0-1). Rumors of interference that Bassam Al Homsi vigorously dismisses.
"There is a list of three or four young people from the reserve who will go up to N2, Adrien is not the only one," he explains. It's normal for a club like Créteil to rely on its young players. We have 1,300 licensees, our desire is to promote young people from the city and Val-de-Marne, rather than recruiting elsewhere. We have a large pool in Île-de-France, we have to use it. »
After the internal storm of recent days, the leaders of Créteil have already made good progress on the identity of their new coach. He is expected to be appointed in the coming hours.