New Marseille manager Rudi Garcia has revealed he turned down an offer from West Ham to return to France.
Garcia, who has been out of work since being sacked by Roma at the start of the year, was linked with Slaven Bilic’s job following their poor start to the season.
However, the Frenchman was appointed Marseille’s new manager earlier in the week, but revealed there was contact from the Hammers before returning to his homeland.
Asked by L’Equipe whether he considered West Ham’s offer, Garcia said: “Obviously. I studied everything. Whether the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga. I went where I was wanted most.
“I had lots of proposals. My goal was to stay in a major European league or take a national team capable of winning the next world Cup. I am happy to be here. It is a great challenge, a new adventure, with a different direction.”
West Ham are currently languishing down in 15th in the Premier League following their indifferent start to the season. The Hammers have only won two of their opening eight league games this season and are winless in three at their new home, where tensions have been running high.
Garcia returns to France after a three-year hiatus and with pedigree. The 52-year-old took Lille to the Ligue 1 title in 2011 before being made Roma manager in 2013. In that time he led the Serie A giants to two straight runners-up finishes behind Juventus before the wheels came off and he was sacked at the start of the year. In his last five years in France Garcia ended with a win rate of 50.4% at Lille.
For more stats on West Ham, click here to visit their WhoScored team page
