Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa denounced on Friday that he had suffered “harassment” from the Lille council before his dismissal in 2017, an issue that is being resolved in a labor court in that city in northern France.
Bielsa, the current coach of the English Leeds United, declared on Friday by videoconference in the process, that he was seen for the sentence on July 2, according to the French press.
In his statement, the technician said: “What I want to explain is the harassment I suffered in September and October, before my dismissal, to destabilize me and push me to resign.”
Bielsa also accused the board of directors of “sabotaging my management and hindering my work, degrading my authority”.
With a long career behind him in Argentina, Spain and France, the 65-year-old coach began his career at the northern club in July 2017 with a two-year contract, but was suspended in November and officially terminated in December, when Lille was second in the French League.
The club, then run by Spanish-Luxembourg businessman Gérard López, tried to show that the dismissal was justified (due to Bielsa’s alleged professional negligence) because he had not paid his contract in full.
Instead, the technician wants his contract paid in full, for which he is asking for around 19 million euros, according to the French press.
Harassed by Lille’s indebtedness, despite being the leader of the French League, López sold the club to a Luxembourg investment fund in December last year, leaving the presidency.