Like many Ligue 1 clubs, Saint-Etienne is looking forward to this coronavirus period, both financially and sportingly. The players follow a personalized program throughout this confinement, and the “social” link between the club and the players is ensured by the three assistants of Claude Puel. Each week, Jacky Bonnevay, Laurent Huard and Julien Sablé each contact eight of the players from the Stéphane squad to take stock of the situation, the containment, the morale and the suspicions of Covid-19 which could have struck their entourage.
The infirmary finally emptied
The only positive for ASSE: the infirmary has finally emptied. Overloaded since the start of the season, it now has only Kevin Monnet-Paquet and Zaydou Youssouf, the two long-injured patients, in its ranks. For the others, the rest allowed the sores and muscle weaknesses to subside. The staff say they are ready to resume when the authorities allow it and show patience.
In the meantime, we take care as best we can with Claude Puel and his staff: every day is an opportunity to supervise one or more players on video. Staff work closely with the new recruitment unit, in place since the ouster of David Wantier, composed of Julien Cordonnier, Anthony Gillot (son of Francis) and Romain Barq.
ASSE expects 10 million TV rights linked to notoriety
On the financial level, the club from Saint-Etienne remains calm about the sustainability of its activity. The players and staff have been placed on partial unemployment and the ten years of balanced financial results allow Saint-Etienne to see coming with a certain confidence. The only downside for the Greens, they were impatiently awaiting the payment of TV rights in April: TV rights are distributed according to several distribution keys, the main ones being rankings and reputation. On this second point, ASSE is one of the best endowed clubs. These notoriety TV rights were expected to raise 10 million euros in April.
The broadcasters, Canal + and BeIN, have not yet paid this April share, having announced the suspension of their payments pending the resumption of the championship. Saint-Etienne therefore expects this amount, representing 10% of its budget this season.