OL Management, Fans Regret Missed Opportunity To Sign Aissa Mandi

The fans and management of the French club Olympique de Lyon bemoaned the loss of the deal with the Algerian international, Aissa Mandi, who was considered a priority for the club in anticipation of next summer’s Mercato after several sources reported the news of Mandi’s agreement with the Italian club Inter Milan with a long-term contract and an annual salary equivalent to 2 million euros.

The French club’s sporting director, Brazilian Juninho, started his negotiations with the Algerian defender’s agents some time ago to persuade him to return to the French Ligue, especially since the financial crisis of Lyon prompted it to search for players in the status of the end of a contract to obtain them free of charge and reduce the financial expenses, which is the case for Mandi, according to Jean Michel Aulas, an expert at lucrative and inexpensive deals.

The French magazine “Onze Mondial” confirmed that Lyon is now required to search for an alternative to Mandi after he attracted the Italian club, Inter Milan, and reached an agreement with it that will soon be demarcated, based on the news that was covered by the newspaper “Estadio Deportivo” close to Earlier, the Andalusian club, and the same source went on to emphasize that Lyon has no luck in joining Mandi, given the strong offer he received from the management of Inter Milan, which is heading in a steady pace to crown the Italian league title, and represented in a contract extending to 4 years and an annual salary of 2 One million euros, which is an ideal contract for Mandi, given his age (30 years) and compared to what is currently happening in the remittance market during the time of the “Covid 19” pandemic.

Olympic Lyon fans are very disappointed to lose a player like Aissa Mandi, and they are betting on returning to participate in the Champions League next season, while the club’s management lost technically and economically in this deal, because it recently got used to investing in free deals, as happened with Islam Slimani and Djamel Benlamri, the former French club Reims’ defender who tops in European media news recently, after his name was widely circulated in many European clubs, such as Liverpool, Valencia, Inter Milan, Lyon and even Crystal Palace, but the Algerian defender searched for the best financial deal, and even athletically, given that Inter Milan will participate in the Champions League next season.

Mandi joined Real Betis in 2016 from the French club Rams for 5 years, and his performance witnessed an amazing development, as he played 168 matches for it, scoring 8 goals and making three more, while this season he participated in 23 games out of 29 in the Spanish League, during which he scored 3 goals and made 1 goal.