Toulouse confirmed Wednesday what had become increasingly obvious over recent weeks: Carles Martínez Novell will depart when the Ligue 1 season concludes. The Spanish coach leaves after three seasons, the last two in charge following his initial role as assistant.
The club sits tenth in the standings with three matches remaining—a mid-table position that reflects neither the heights some expected after their 2023 Coupe de France triumph nor the crisis some feared during tougher stretches. The announcement arrived without immediate word on who might replace him.
The title of the job changes quickly; the explanation usually takes a little longer to catch up.
"A big thank you as well to the supporters for their constant support, and to the city for its warm welcome from day one," Martínez Novell said. "I leave with incredible memories that will stay with me forever. Stand up. Always."
That final pairing—Stand up. Always.—reads less like a press release and more like someone accustomed to gathering agroup before kickoff. It is the kind of farewell that tells you he did not see this as failure, whatever the table says.