Louis Nicollin serious about Diego Maradona

Montpellier president Louis Nicollin has insisted that he is serious about appointing Diego Maradona as his club's coach next season.

Nicollin said earlier this week that he was contemplating hiring the Argentine to succeed Rene Girard at the end of the season to "annoy" French rivals Paris Saint-Germain.

"I didn't say that by chance," he told L'Equipe. "I've known for a few weeks that Maradona wants to coach in Europe and perhaps with us.

"If he wants to come and talk to us, we'll welcome him. It's always good to talk to people who want to join your company. So I'm wholly ready to meet him.

"If he accepts €30,000 (£26,000) a month, we'll take him. And we'll find him a villa. There's no way he's going to stay at my place - he'll be bothering me every day.

"If he comes to talk, we'll have a good press conference - and I want to see more journalists than there were for David Beckham in Paris. We've had other coaches [who are] difficult to deal with. As long as they get the points needed to keep us up."

Maradona is currently without a managerial job.