Scores Rennes en direct
25 August 2011 | à 11h47

Antonetti : “Everyone agrees” about Erding

Antonetti : “Everyone agrees” about Erding

Invited on RMC tis Wednesday evening, Frédéric Antonetti gave his views on various topical questions, such as the transfer of Mevlüt Erding, the interest from Arsenal for M’Vila, and the place of Stade Rennes in French football. Verbatim.

Erding’s arrival

«At this moment, it’s status quo. As long as Paris don’t have their new striker, they don’t want to part with Erding. We have agreed, everybody has agreed. We wait impatiently, I hope it will become clearer very soon. Leonardo has the key”.

A nearly complete Rennes squad?

«If we have the chance to recruit Erding, a type of player we don’t have in our group today, I think we would really have a complete squad. I also wait for the return of Apam. Everyone has slightly forgotten him since he hasn’t played for thirteen months, but he is a great player. He is coming back little by a little. He has finished his program of joggings, now he will start working on the balance. He seems to get better, so I keep my fingers crossed. I hope everything will get back in order. If we have the chance to see Apam come back and if we have the chance to see Erding arrive, we will truly have a really competitive squad. We won’t catch up with the big four since they have too much advance on us, but we will get closer. That was the aim of our summer transfer window”.

M’Vila and the repeated interest from Arsenal

«There was an approach, that’s for sure, but the answer was no. As soon as the answer is no, it has to stop. We are lucky enough to have a chairman able to say no. Whether it is Arsenal or another club – since there has been other approaches for other players -, when we say no, it’s no. His departure isn’t planned for this year, it is for next year ».
«There is a contract and the player is with us. It’s difficult when the player wants to leave, but we are lucky as Yann listens and he doesn’t feel he is wasting his time by remaining here for one more year”.
«Yann had a slump from March. That’s the reason why he stays with us, to correct some defaults of his game and leave much stronger in a much more renowned club. To avoid a slump is something you learn. We are here to help him, and follow him throughout the season.

What separates Rennes from the « Big Four » and prevent them to follow the example of Lille

«Just look at the budgets… We are lucky to have Mr. Pinault and his son who are backing the club and who can give a hand if needed. If it wasn’t for M. Pinault and his son, today, Rennes would be a very average club from the French league, which is twelfth or thirteen since it matches the size of Rennes as a city. The fact that we have owners who love the club make that at some point, we can gain seven or eight positions».
«About Lille, I would like to establish some truth. The LOSC works well since ten or twelve years now. They have been powering their way up, they build a stadium and they have a new training centre. They work very cleverly and it is normal that they have good results. But they did it because they changed their financial policy. When you pay a player 300,000 euros, you can keep them. If you don’t offer them 300,000 euros, they will leave. Nobody mentions it. Last year, people said that +Lille had 70 million euros of budget+. It’s true, but at the end the LOSC spent 28 million more and have a deficit. Stade Rennes had a budget of 52 million euros and spent 50. It’s a question of financial policy. We try to balance the budget, we are lucky enough to have a chairman who helps us. Lille took risks because they could say +We have players we can sell, the new stadium is coming+. These are calculated risks, but each club has got its financial policy. When we see Bordeaux who are not in the Champions League anymore now, there are difficulties on this level”.

The step Rennes are not managing to reach

«I learnt one thing here, that the last step is the hardest to reach. In Bastia, we had the twentieth budget and I managed, by being playing it cleverly, between the seventh and the tenth place very regularly. In Nice we had the sixteenth budget, we finished eighth one, ninth once, we ended up not too far from Europe. When Rennes contacted me I said + Why not do the same thing? Why not win two or three places? +, but it’s more difficult, because it’s harder to beat the teams which are at the top.

The Parisian recruitment

«I’m not jealous at all, I’m pleased. It pulls everyone forwards, it helps the French football. I would like the three or four other big teams to do the same. Automatically, they will take better players and we will recruit there good players, which will result in a much more attractive Ligue 1”.