Lyon coach Fonseca set for Sporting move

Portuguese coach Paulo Fonseca has informed his Lyon players that he is leaving to join Portuguese giants Sporting, a source close to the Ligue 1 club told AFP on Monday.

Neither club has officially confirmed the move, but Sporting said on Sunday it had opened negotiations to terminate the contract of current coach Rui Borges.

Fonseca, 53, joined Lyon in January 2025 as a replacement for Pierre Sage. He is under contract until the end of this season.

The former Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, Lille and AC Milan coach guided Lyon to a fourth-place finish last term, but they missed out on this season’s Champions League league phase after losing in the play-offs.

Fonseca’s spell at Lyon came during a turbulent financial period. In June 2025, French football’s financial watchdog provisionally relegated the club to Ligue 2 before the decision was overturned on appeal, subject to a strict programme of cost-cutting measures and player sales.

The club also stuck by Fonseca after he was given a nine-month domestic ban last year for an angry altercation with a referee.

Lyon are expected to appoint a permanent successor during the upcoming international break, with former Braga coach Carlos Vicens reportedly among the leading candidates.

Assistant Jorge Maciel will take charge of Lyon on an interim basis for the club’s next two matches, Thursday’s Europa League fixture against Real Sociedad and Sunday’s Ligue 1 trip to Brest, according to the same source.