Patrick Vieira denies signing contract with French club Nice

By Daniel Lewis, Senior ReporterPublished: 23 May 2018 10:10 AM

Patrick Vieira responds to "wrong" speculation linking him with the Nice job, insisting that he is "really happy" at New York City FC.

New York City FC boss Patrick Vieira has moved to put an end to speculation suggesting that he has agreed to take charge of Ligue 1 side Nice.

The 41-year-old, who was rumoured to be in the running to replace Arsene Wenger at Arsenal prior to Unai Emery's appointment, is two years into his managerial career with the Blues.

Vieira recently declared that he is "ready" to manage a team in Europe, and rumours then went into overdrive when he was spotted in his native France last weekend.

Asked about talk of terms being agreed with Nice, however, the Arsenal midfield legend told reporters: "It makes me smile, because of course there's no contract being signed or anything like that. This is the wrong information. I'm here, like always. I'm really happy. I really enjoy my work, I really enjoy being part of this football club.

"I'm just focusing and concentrating about our next game. I don't want players, myself, my staff or anybody in this football club to be distracted by what's going on. My head, my focus and my energy are here. Things that I can control are being here, having my head, my energy to this football club and then everything going out is out of my hands.

"I can't control what's going on in France, what's going on England or what's going on anywhere else. I have a fantastic relationship with the people of this football club. We've always been clear with each other. For me this is the most important. The other things, I let people do what they need to do or say what they need to say."

Vieira's New York are third in the Eastern Conference standings after 12 games of the Major League Soccer season.