After weeks of negotiations, Anthony Lopes has finally extended his contract with boyhood club Olympique Lyonnais, putting pen to paper on a four-year deal with an option for an extra year.
The saga surrounding Anthony Lopes' extension kept Lyon supporters on the edge of their seats over the summer, and in late August they would have been over the moon to hear the news that Lopes had finally inked an extension.
"It's a relief for everyone, I think. It was a rather long soap opera but, on both sides, we wanted to do things very well. Now everyone is very happy," the Portuguese goalkeeper told L'Equipe, noting that club president Jean-Michel Aulas had been the key to the deal. "He took matters into his own hands; he was the one who finalised all this. He played a very important role."
'We work with respect'
Now linked with his boyhood club through 2023 (or 2024 if the option for a supplementary season is exercised), Lopes is no longer in competition with Mathieu Gorgelin, who left for Le Havre in the summer, but with his replacement Ciprian Tatarusanu, who arrived from Nantes.
"With Mathieu, we went through all our classes together and we both managed to reach the professional level. He pushed me in every training session and he was there for me no matter what. He's a good friend," said the 28-year-old keeper before discussing his relationship with Romanian 'keeper Tatarusanu, who has made it clear he won't be settling for the role of understudy this season. "Now with Tata, it's going really well. We talk a lot and we work with respect."
