MONTREAL — Montreal Impact coach Remi Garde denied the rumors indicating he’d return to coach his former club Lyon this summer.
The Frenchman made a point to turn down any link with the Ligue 1 club on Tuesday morning.
“On my side, I deny all recent contacts with Lyon on the subject that was brought up,” Garde said. “I have the feeling that this was piece of information that was created from nothing.”
Rumors of connections between Garde and Lyon were first reported by Montreal-based reporter Arcadio Marcuzzi on the IMFCRadio show.
La saison dernière Rémi Garde était convoité par Bordeaux. Cette année un autre club de Ligue 1 aurait l'oeil sur le pilote de l'Impact, selon ce qu'à appris @_marcuzzi. 👀
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— Le Podcast des Blue Jays (@PodcastBlueJays) March 7, 2019
Marcuzzi also reported that Garde’s contract is coming to an end at the end of the 2019 season with an option that would increase his current earnings. Garde declined to comment on his contract situation, adding: “I think the club should be communicating this, not me.”
The man who led Lyon to a Coupe de France title in 2012 remained open about his relationship with his former club. Notably, Garde brought young fullback Zachary Brault-Guillard on loan from the French side for this season. Garde stressed, though, that his relationship with Lyon ends there.
“I have contacts in Lyon with friends, notably Bruno Genesio, his staff and his team, to encourage them for [Lyon’s Champions League game against Barcelona on Wednesday], but it’s limited to that,” Garde said.