Anthony Lopes is angry. After having been the indisputable starter in Lyon’s goal for more than a decade, the Portuguese goalkeeper, 34 years old on October 1, hardly appreciates – and that’s an understatement – his relegation to fourth place in the hierarchy of players. Rhone doormen…
Lopes saw the Brazilian Lucas Perri, promoted to number 1 six months after his arrival from Brazil, and Rémy Descamps, recruited as number 2 to clearly indicate the direction of the exit, pass in front of him. But the 5th most capped player in the history of OL (489 matches in all competitions), not registered to play the Europa League, condemned to stay at home on match weekends and reduced to testing all the escape games of the department has not left.
“I simply think that I am not part of the hierarchy of goalkeepers at OL,” he explains with bitterness in an interview with L’Équipe. I am in the place I was given, which is to say none. I accept the situation as best I can, knowing that I have no other choice available to me. I am in the training group but not in the hierarchy, since I cannot apply to play. »
Lopes refuses to go into detail about his discussions with manager Pierre Sage and says he did not see the blow coming from his management when Perri joined the club at the start of the year.
“No one warned me that my place was in question,” he continues. I was clearly not told anything in January. I prefer to set the record straight at this point. (…) You should know that I have never been criticized for anything sportingly or in my involvement in training or in the locker room…”
“OL have informed Anthony Lopes of the situation”
On the Lyon side, on the other hand, we present a completely different version. OL claims to have kept its player informed of its intentions. “OL have kept Anthony Lopes and his representatives well informed of the situation and sporting developments,” it is said. The club assured him of supporting him as best as possible, while facilitating any sporting projects that came his way. »
Even if he has not received any concrete offers in recent weeks, Lopes wants to leave the banks of the Rhône and look for a new challenge. “The reality is that today I watch the matches on the sofa,” breathes the man who understood from the summer preparation matches that his fate was sealed.
Small consolation, Lopes appreciated counting on the support of the supporters. The Bad Gones thus deployed banners to support him. “It touched me, obviously. Who wouldn’t be sensitive to that?, he blurted. The support of the supporters is the only one I still have left at the club…”
