Liam Rosenior is in talks to become the new head coach of super-rich Ligue 1 side Paris FC in a move which would mark his return to French football.
The 41-year-old Englishman has been out of work since leaving Chelsea in April, when he was dismissed after only 106 days in charge at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues’ campaign had imploded with players accused of downing tools under their boss, including suffering five successive league losses without scoring for the first time since 1912. It was the fifth defeat in that streak – a 3-0 beating by Brighton – which saw Rosenior sacked.
Chelsea had hired Rosenior out of their sister club, Strasbourg, also owned by BlueCo, and so already he has experience of managing in France’s Ligue 1.
Strasbourg replaced Rosenior with Gary O’Neil, who has since left the French side to take over at Ipswich after their promotion back to the Premier League.
Paris FC finished 11th in Ligue 1 last season under head coach Antoine Kombouare, though are a club on the rise with significant resources behind them.
Liam Rosenior is in talks to become the new head coach of super-rich Ligue 1 side Paris FC
Rosenior is set to make a swift return to Ligue 1 after leaving Chelsea having previously coached Strasbourg
They are backed by billionaires in the Arnault family.
Forbes’ 2026 list of the richest people in the world ranked the French businessman Bernard Arnault, aged 77, as seventh with a net worth of $171billion (£129.5bn).
Paris FC were still competing in Ligue 2 when the Arnaults acquired the club in 2024. It was in 2025 when they secured promotion to join their successful neighbours, Paris Saint-Germain, in Ligue 1 for the first time since 1979.
Jurgen Klopp is the head of global soccer for Red Bull, who own a minority stake in the French club also.
Meanwhile, Manchester City are close to announcing Enzo Maresca as their new head coach after talks with Chelsea over a compensation agreement.
The French club are owned by the Arnault family, with patriarch Bernard Arnault (right) the seventh richest person on the planet
Chelsea insisted they were owed a financial settlement for how Maresca departed them mid-season. He departed on New Year’s Day with three-and-a-half years remaining on his contract – or four-and-a-half including the club option of an additional year.
It then emerged that Maresca had previously informed his employers at Chelsea how he had spoken to City representatives over the possibility of succeeding Guardiola in the upcoming summer, which is now the case.
Chelsea crumbled after Maresca’s exit, hiring and then firing Rosenior before using Calum McFarlane as an interim until the end of the season. Xabi Alonso officially begins work as Chelsea’s new manager this week, on July 1.
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