Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa denounced on Friday that he suffered “persecution” by the Lille board before his dismissal in 2017, a matter that is being resolved in a labor court in this city in northern France .
Bielsa, the current coach of English Leeds United, testified this Friday by videoconference at the trial, which was seen for sentencing on July 2, French media point out.
In his statement, the technician noted: “What I want to explain is the harassment I suffered in the months of September and October, before my dismissal, in order to destabilize me and push me to resign.”
Bielsa also accused the board of “sabotaging my management and hindering my work, degrading my authority.”
With a long career in Argentina, Spain and France behind him, the now 65-year-old coach began his career at the northern club in July 2017, with a two-season contract, but was suspended at the November and formally ceased in December, when Lille left penultimate in the French League.
The club, then chaired by Spanish-Luxembourg businessman Gérard López, tried to prove that the dismissal was justified (by an alleged professional negligence of Bielsa) for not paying the contract in its entirety.
Instead, the technician intends to pay for the integrity of his contract, so he is demanding around 19 million euros, according to French media.
Harassed by Lille’s debt despite leading the French League, López sold the club to a Luxembourg investment fund last December, leaving the presidency as well.