Patrick Vieira clearly does not intend to skip ahead. Appointed coach of Senegal on August 18, the former French international has still not officially taken up his duties. And for good reason, several points remain to be resolved with the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF), while the 50-year-old technician obviously wants to secure his situation before starting his mission.
For now, Vieira has only given an agreement in principle, as explained by Bakary Cissé, member of the FSF executive committee. Discussions are therefore continuing behind the scenes in order to finalize the last details of his commitment. According to The Voice+the 1998 world champion would not like to make his first public appearance before the final signing of his contract.
A requirement which could be explained by the precedent experienced by Pape Thiaw. The former coach of the Lions of Téranga continued his mission for several months without contract or salary, after the expiration of his previous commitment at the end of February. A situation which quickly caused tensions within the selection.
Vieira does not want to relive the Pape Thiaw scenario
The crisis broke out in particular before leaving for the preparation course for the 2026 World Cup in the United States. Pape Thiaw initially refused to travel until his contractual situation was resolved, before finally reversing his decision after the intervention of the head of state. A few weeks later, in the middle of the competition, he again threatened not to show up for the decisive match against Norway, before obtaining an extension just hours before kick-off. Senegal finally lost (3-2) on June 23.
What followed was just as eventful. Dismissed from his position on July 11, Pape Thiaw then sent a formal notice to the FSF to claim 647,000 euros in unpaid debts. And according to
SeneNewsthe former coach is now preparing a new request of around 600,000 euros. A possible claim which could increase the bill to more than a million euros. Enough to explain why Patrick Vieira wants to settle all the details before settling definitively on the bench of the Lions of Téranga.
