Olympique Lyonnais have appointed Carlos Vicens as their new head coach following Paulo Fonseca’s departure. The former Manchester City assistant takes his first job in French football after a spell in charge of Braga.
Vicens has signed a contract until June 2028, less than a week after Fonseca left for Sporting CP. Assistant coach Jorge Maciel took interim charge for the games against Real Sociedad and Brest.
Sporting paid €5 million to release Fonseca from his Lyon contract, which ran until the summer of 2027. The Portuguese coach left with Lyon third in Ligue 1 after nine games and competing in the Europa League.
Vicens worked his way through Manchester City’s academy before joining Pep Guardiola’s first-team staff in 2021. He spent four years alongside Guardiola, helping City win the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League treble in 2022–23.
The Spaniard took his first head coaching job at Sporting Braga in the summer of 2025. He led the club to fourth place in the Portuguese league and the Europa League semi-finals in his first season before leaving in October after 15 months in charge.
The 43-year-old inherits a Lyon side that slipped to sixth after a 2–0 defeat to Brest. Four new assistants will join his coaching staff, with Maciel staying on after his interim spell.
Vicens will use the international break to get to know his squad before his first game in charge on 21 November, a demanding trip to face Davide Ancelotti’s second-placed Lille.
Lyon then host Norwegian side Lillestrøm in the Europa League on 26 November before facing Monaco in Ligue 1, giving Vicens three games across two competitions as soon as the season resumes.
