Paulo Fonseca

Paulo Fonseca may be the next head coach of Sporting CP. A Bola reported on 1 November 2026 that the Lisbon club had reached an agreement with Fonseca and with Olympique Lyonnais, and that Rui Borges had agreed with the board to end his contract [1]. That is a report, not an official announcement, and the paper says its information did not come from a club statement [1].

What the Sporting report says

According to A Bola, Fonseca has already said goodbye to his Lyon squad by message, and his first match with Sporting is expected at home against Moreirense next Saturday, in matchday 11 of the league [1]. Tiago Fernandes, who coaches Sporting's B team, is expected to lead the side in the match against Shakhtar Donetsk before that [1]. The report describes Lyon's agreement as reached but gives no terms [1]. Until Sporting or Lyon confirm the move, the date, the contract and the staff remain unconfirmed.

From Nampula to Barreirense

Fonseca was born on 5 March 1973 in Nampula, Mozambique [3] [2]. Mozambique was then a Portuguese colony and gained independence in 1975 [2]. He lived in Africa until he was 14, then his family moved to Barreiro, near Lisbon [2].

He played as a defender [9]. He joined Barreirense in 1991 and made 91 appearances over four seasons [2]. He later moved to Porto, never played a match for them, and was loaned out several times [2]. His last club as a player was Estrela da Amadora, and he retired in 2005 [2] [9].

Lower leagues to the first trophy

He began coaching in 2005 with the youth team of Estrela da Amadora, then worked in the lower tiers of Portuguese football [3] [9]. At Desportivo Aves he took a third-division side to the Portuguese Cup quarter-finals in two consecutive seasons and won promotion to the second division [2].

In 2012 he took Paços de Ferreira to third place in the Portuguese top flight, which earned a Champions League play-off place [2] [3]. He joined Porto in 2013 and won the Portuguese Super Cup, his first major trophy as a coach [2]. La Presse says Porto dismissed him in March, and he returned to Paços de Ferreira the following season and finished eighth [9]. He later led Braga to the Portuguese Cup, beating Porto on penalties in the final [2].

Shakhtar Donetsk, 2016 to 2019

Shakhtar's own account dates his first day in charge to 1 June 2016 [4]. In just over three years the club says he won three Ukrainian league titles, three Ukrainian Cups and one Ukrainian Super Cup, and three league and cup doubles [4]. In 139 games in charge his side won 103 [4] [3]. The club also recorded an unbeaten run of 29 league games during his time there [4]. Shakhtar's own page calls him one of the most successful coaches in the club's history and says the side won every cup meeting under him [4]. Fonseca left in June 2019 [4].

AC Milan's announcement of his hiring in 2024 gives the same total, seven trophies and 103 wins in 139 matches at Shakhtar [3].

Roma, 2019 to 2021

AS Roma appointed him on 11 June 2019 [2]. In his first season the team finished fifth in Serie A, and the next season it reached the Europa League semi-finals [6] [3]. Roma dismissed him in May 2021 [9].

Lille, then Milan

Lille hired him for a two-season spell [7]. The club finished fifth in Ligue 1 in 2022/23 and fourth in 2023/24 [7]. In 2024 Lille reached the quarter-finals of the Europa Conference League [6].

AC Milan announced his appointment on 13 June 2024 on a three-year contract [3]. He was dismissed at the end of 2024 [7]. Milan's announcement quoted no words from Fonseca himself, only the club's welcome to him and his staff [3].

Lyon from January 2025

Olympique Lyonnais appointed him on 31 January 2025 to replace Pierre Sage [6] [5]. The club's filing says the contract runs until 30 June 2027 and that the decision was taken unanimously by John Textor and the sporting management [5]. The club described the hiring as part of a drive to restore its ambition [6]. Lyon were sixth in Ligue 1 with 30 points at the time, and had already secured a place in the next Europa League phase [6].