Lucien Favre has decided against taking up Crystal Palace’s offer of a three-year contract to replace Roy Hodgson as manager after a last-minute change of mind.
The former Borussia Dortmund manager agreed a three-year deal to take over at Selhurst Park after holding productive talks with the Palace hierachy over the last week and a half. The 63-year-old had been due to sign his contract on Thursday morning, with Palace having already applied for a work permit on behalf of Favre and his two assistants.
But it is understood that despite being sacked by Dortmund in December 2020, the former Switzerland midfielder has decided that he would like to take a longer break from football and is not yet ready to return to the rigours of management. Favre is believed to have interest from other clubs – most notably Lille and Fenerbahce – although sources close to him have insisted that he is not intending to take another job in the near future.
That would appear to also rule out any prospective move to Everton, who had also expressed an interest Favre in recent days.
The Palace co-chairman Steve Parish met Favre last week in Nice and had been impressed with his vision for the club after Hodgson’s departure at the end of last season. But having previously broken off talks with Nuno Espírito Santo, Favre’s U-turn is a major disappointment for the south London club.
They must now resume the process of attempting to find a replacement with several players out of contract at the end of the month.
