Montpellier dismisses its captain, who boasted of receiving 210,000 euros per month

A captain should not say that, the Montpellier Hérault Sport Club (MHSC) understood this and chose to make it understood to Téji Savanier. Wearing the armband within the Hérault team for more than three seasons, the 33-year-old midfielder has been relieved of this responsibility and should start Montpellier’s first match of 2025, Saturday January 4 at 9 p.m. in Lyon, on the substitutes’ bench. In the turmoil since comments made during a Coupe de France match on December 21, the player also pledged to pay 60,000 euros to a charity supported by the MHSC.

An amount more than three times lower than the salary that Savanier receives each month, of which he clumsily boasted on December 21, 2024, during the 32 match^es of the Coupe de France final, during which his team was pitifully eliminated by Le Puy Foot (0-4), a National 2 club – the fourth French division. “Last in Ligue 1, does that hurt? »a supporter had said to him from the edge of the pitch. Savanier’s response came: “When you earn 210,000 euros per month, no. »

The video extract, widely distributed on social networks, immediately caused a reaction from Hérault supporters already exasperated by the very worrying sporting situation of the club: after 15 days of the championship, Montpellier occupies the last place in the Ligue 1 ranking, respectively 3 and 4 points from Le Havre (17^e) and AS Saint-Etienne (16^e), dam operator. The MHSC rightly fears returning, next season, to the second division, which the club has not visited since the 2008-2009 financial year.

A meeting with President Nicollin

On December 23, two days after the rout in the Coupe de France, the club published its apologies on “do not condone these words which reflect neither the values ​​of the club nor those of its captain”. “I sincerely regret this direct reaction. Like the team, I am going through a complicated period, but that does not justify my words”had also recognized Téji Savanier.

This act of contrition was not enough for the members of Butte Paillade 91, the main ultra group of the MHSC, who declared in a press release dated December 24: “We expected consequences and firm decisions after this episode. Instead, we received a terse statement. (…) Until when will the leaders, and in the first place [Laurent] Nicollin [le président du MHSC]will they tolerate us tarnishing the club in this way? »

Marked by this event and his team’s catastrophic first part of the season, Laurent Nicollin, boss of the club since the death of his father, Louis Nicollin, in 2017, organized a meeting with all the players on Friday morning. It was during this meeting that the decision to remove Téji Savanier’s armband was revealed. Becir Omeragic or Jordan Ferri could be named captain for the match on the pitch at Groupama Stadium in Décines-Charpieu (Rhône), Saturday evening.

Players “disillusioned, worried, with their heads elsewhere”

The Montpellier leader and the club’s supporters are now hoping for a reaction on the pitch, but the task promises to be difficult for a team adrift, which will face a confident Olympique Lyonnais, who are currently 6th in the championship. Jean-Louis Gasset, the MHSC coach, confided on Thursday at a press conference that some of his players are “disillusioned, worried or have their mind elsewhere”.

The winter transfer market, which opened on January 1, could, in fact, lead to the departure of certain members of the squad. In difficulty on a sporting level, Montpellier has also been in difficulty in terms of its finances for many months and the club will first have to sell before being able to think of strengthening itself in the hope of remaining in Ligue 1 at the end of the season . Despite everything, Gasset is optimistic: “We still have our future in our hands. We must put the church back in the middle of the village and leave with a good frame of mind. »

Since his arrival in mid-October to replace Michel Der Zakarian, the first coach sacked in Ligue 1 this season, Gasset has only won one match, against Brest (3-1), on November 10. “We will have to change a lot of things to have any hope of fulfilling the mission of saving ourselves in Ligue 1. A lot of things”had whispered the 71-year-old technician after the humiliating defeat against Le Puy. The first consequences of this setback have therefore been felt in recent days. After having hit rock bottom, the MHSC now hopes to find some air in the coming weeks.