Nicolas Anelka returns to football

After trying to buy Olympique de Marseille in the summer, Mourad Boudjellal has decided to acquire Hyères Football Club, a team that is currently in National 2, equivalent to the fifth division of French football. His first decision was to sign Nicolas Anelka as sports director.

He former Real Madrid player, away from the pitch since his retirement in 2017, will join Boudjelall on his second adventure off the pitch, as in 2018 he was manager of the youth players at Lille. It will be his third experience in France, after a first as a player at PSG.

Anelka became interested in team management in 2012. At that time, the French international played for Shanghai Shenhua and decided to combine the position of coach as a player, something that he would repeat at Mumbai City in 2015. The goal he will have at Hyères is to build a competitive team to try achieve promotion to National and establish themselves in professional football.