Will the Canaries repeat the feat? Friday, May 5, according to the newspaper L’Équipe, the management of FC Nantes decided to take out the checkbook to motivate their team in the race to stay in Ligue 1. Indeed, the leaders of the Loire-Atlantique club have acted on the principle a bonus – 50,000 euros, according to Ouest-France – for its players if the team managed to stay in Ligue 1. A decision taken on May 4. On Friday, Nantes was in 17th place in the standings. First place means relegation.
This system had already been used in 2021, when the Canaries were in the same situation. The FCN had ended up saving itself, in dams, by beating Toulouse. The irony of history is that this decision was made before the start of the 34th day… like two years earlier. Even stronger, on the occasion of this day of the championship, the people of Nantes were opposed… to Strasbourg. Led at the very end of the first period, the Canaries recovered during the second half and won (1-2). At the time, the bonus had been the same amount, according to Ouest-France.
There are five games left for FC Nantes to keep their place in Ligue 1. On their way, a club is already relegated (Angers) and another has just beaten them in the final of the Coupe de France (Toulouse). They will also be opposed to Strasbourg therefore, Montpellier and Lille. According to the classification, the two other relegated clubs – Troyes and Ajaccio – are almost doomed. A doubt still remains on the 17? place, given the differences in points between Nantes, Strasbourg, Auxerre and Brest.
This bonus can motivate the Nantes troops all the more since most players are subject to a “Ligue 2 clause”. This consists of a significant reduction in their salary to a maximum of 15,000 euros per month, far from the 70,000 euros gross – on average, for the whole team – mentioned during the 2021-2022 season.
