Monaco sack Pocognoli as Lille appoint Ancelotti

Monaco have sacked coach Sebastien Pocognoli following their failure to qualify for the Champions League.

Pocognoli replaced Adi Hutter in October last year having guided Union Saint-Gilloise to the Belgian Pro League title in 2024-25.

However, after exiting the Champions League in the play-off round, losing a two-legged tie to eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco could only manage a seventh-placed finish in Ligue 1, finishing six points adrift of fourth place, which would have secured a spot in the third qualifying round of the Champions League.

Monaco will instead enter the play-off round of the Conference League, with that disappointment costing Pocognoli his job.

Meanwhile, Lille, who finished third in Ligue 1 to secure a place in the league phase of the Champions League, have appointed Carlo Ancelotti’s son Davide as their new coach.

Ancelotti replaces Bruno Genesio, who left Lille following the end of his two-year contract at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.

The 36-year-old has served as his father’s assistant at a host of different clubs and briefly for the Brazil national team.

He was appointed as Botafogo coach in July but was dismissed in December after just over five months in charge having won 15 of his 33 games.

“I am very proud and happy, and I thank President Olivier Letang for his trust and for this opportunity,” Ancelotti told the Lille official website.

“We talked a lot together, I found a human connection, aligned ideas and values. The LOSC project corresponds to me, with a clear identity, demands, hard work.

“It is a serious, ambitious, competitive club and regularly present on the European scene. It is an honor for me to represent Lille today.”