Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira leaves Genoa with winless Serie A club rooted to the bottom of the table

Vieira’s exit was confirmed on Saturday morning. According to The BBC, a series of meetings was conducted on Friday night, during which the 49-year-old Frenchman initiated discussions about his future. By dawn, both parties had agreed that his chapter in Genoa was over, less than a year after his arrival. When Vieira took charge in November 2024, Genoa were languishing in 17th place and were in grave danger of dropping out of Serie A. But under his guidance, the team staged a spirited escape by winning eight and drawing nine of their final 26 matches to climb to a respectable 13th. However, that optimism evaporated early this season. They have failed to record a single league victory, with six defeats in their first nine Serie A fixtures, including five losses in their last six outings. Their only brief moments of joy came in the Coppa Italia, where Vieira’s side picked up two wins.

In an official announcement, Genoa thanked Vieira and his backroom team and said, "Genoa CFC announces that Patrick Vieira is no longer the coach of the First Team. The club wishes to thank the coach and his staff for the seriousness and professionalism demonstrated throughout their work and extends its best wishes for the continuation of their professional careers."    

Even as Vieira packed his bags, Genoa wasted no time in appointing new figures to provide fresh direction to the club. Diego Lopez, who was formerly the sporting director at RC Lens, has been officially recruited as Genoa’s new Chief of Football. This is an attempt to restructure their sporting hierarchy as the club is desperate for stability. According to reports in Italy, Lopez reportedly met Vieira last night and had agreed to delay any major decisions until next week. Yet by morning, the Frenchman had decided he’d had enough and walked away from the club. 

Club President Dan Sucu and CEO Andres Bazquez hailed Lopez’s arrival and said, "We trust his prerogative, both human and professional, to give an impulse to the sporting area strategy and to optimise the operative plans, both in the short and the long-term."  

Lopez, whose career has spanned scouting and technical roles at Monaco, Lille, Bordeaux and Excelsior Mouscron, vowed to honour Genoa’s proud traditions: "I thank the owners and management for their faith in me. It is an honour to work for a club with such great tradition, wonderful fans, and a clear project on which action to take. Sporting ambition and identity must characterise our journey. I trust that I am up to the standards of the expectations of this great Club and wish to salute all those who care about Genoa.”

Mario Balotelli had every reason to celebrate Vieira's exit, as he was frozen out by the Frenchman last season before eventually departing. He made two separate posts on Instagram and wrote, "Karma is a b****. God sees and provides", in his first story.

He put up another Instagram story, which read: "Now Genoa can finally focus on people who truly love the environment, the fans and the crest, and who deeply believe in the idea and the fact that Genoa deserves to be at the top. 

"The great work done by Gilardino and Zangrillo has not been lost," he added, tagging former players Alberto Zangrillo and Alberto Gilardino and Vieira as well. "It was just exploited selfishly and badly by those who came after, taking advantage of what they had built with hard work, respect and passion. They exploited the immense work of Gilardino and Zangrillo, their commitment and dedication to these colours, without really understanding their value. Now let’s focus on Genoa and the Genoese! Come on Genoa! Come on guys! I believed in you and I still do.” 

Vieira’s legacy as a player remains untouchable. He is a three-time Premier League champion and four-time FA Cup winner with Arsenal, a World Cup and European Championship winner with France, and a respected figure at clubs such as Inter Milan and Manchester City. But his managerial career has been far less stable. After starting at New York City FC in 2016, he impressed early but struggled to find consistent success back in Europe. His stints at Nice, Crystal Palace, Strasbourg, and now Genoa have all ended prematurely due to poor results. At Palace, Vieira guided the club to the FA Cup semi-finals but was sacked in 2023 after a 12-game winless streak. Whereas, at Strasbourg, he departed by mutual consent last July after a single season. Now, with his Genoa spell ending similarly, questions are being asked about where the Frenchman goes next, and whether his coaching career can ever live up to the brilliance of his playing days.