‘I’m convinced that we’ll find a solution’ – Jean-Michel Aulas dismisses tense relationship between FFF and Hervé Renard

The vice president of the French Football Federation, Jean-Michel Aulas has responded to Hervé Renard’s announcement that he will be leaving his role as manager of the women’s team at the end of his contract on the 31st of August. 

Renard expressed in an interview with Le Figaro that he had no intention of continuing past the Summer Olympics, and hinted that tension with the federation was to blame for his desire to leave the national team set-up. 

In particular, Renard referenced the episode in January where the Ivory Coast approached him to become their interim manager during the then-ongoing AFCON after Jean-Louis Gasset quit the national team set-up mid-tournament. After this, Renard believed that “ The snipers were aimed at me. ” 

The FFF reportedly rejected this proposal outright in a meeting between Renard, Aulas, and the president of the federation, Philippe Diallo. And it appears to be the key turning point in the relationship between Renard and the federation. 

However, Aulas in an interview with L’Équipe rejects this timeline of events and points out that they were happy to release the manager, but their demand for financial compensation was not met. “ We were talking about a week maximum at a time when there were no matches and no preparation [for the women’s team]. If that hadn’t been the case, we would have handled the problem differently. ” 

Instead, Aulas paints a settled picture of Renard’s planned departure, “ When we convinced him to join us, it was made clear that it was until the Olympic Games. We obviously had the idea that we could extend it further, but he never committed to that and we knew that it was already an incredible opportunity for women’s football to have him for that long .” 

Aulas