Romanian football coach Răzvan Lucescu departs Greek team PAOK Thessaloniki

The PAOK Thessaloniki football club officially announced the termination of its collaboration with Romanian coach Răzvan Lucescu on Friday, June 19. According to a club statement, the collaboration ended “by mutual agreement.”

Lucescu coached the Greek team since 2021, after another period as head coach between 2017 and 2019. Under his leadership, the team won a championship title (2024) and three Greek cups (2022, 2023, and 2026).

“Through dedication, passion, and relentless work, he made a decisive contribution to achieving major objectives and to building a team that provided unique moments for our supporters. Our shared journey was marked by titles, important victories, intense emotions, and moments that will remain unforgettable in the memory of the PAOK family,” the team said.

The team’s representatives said that Răzvan Lucescu has attached his name to one of the most important periods in the club’s history. They thanked him and wished the Romanian success in the future. According to Digi Sport, Dutch-Croatian football manager Marino Pušić will likely be appointed in place of Răzvan Lucescu.

Lucescu faces an uncertain future. The Romanian coach is not short of offers and is strongly wanted by Al-Sadd, the champions of Qatar, according to the same source. Journalist Ahmed Ragab wrote that the Romanian coach is very close to signing a two-year contract with the Qatari team and beginning a new experience in the Gulf region, after his spell at Al-Hilal (2019 - 2021).

In the 22 years in which he has worked as a coach so far, Răzvan Lucescu has managed FC Brașov, Rapid, the Romanian national team, El-Jaish (Qatar), Petrolul, Skoda Xanthi, Al-Hilal, and PAOK Thessaloniki.

Earlier this year, Răzvan Lucescu’s father, the storied coach Mircea Lucescu, died at the age of 80.

(Photo source: PAOK FC on Facebook)