New Marseille boss Rudi Garcia reveals he rejected offer to take over as West Ham manager this season
Slaven Bilic's future remains uncertain as Garcia claims he rebuffed the chance to manage the Hammers amid poor start to season
NEW Marseille manager Rudi Garcia has sensationally claimed he was offered the chance to be West Ham boss before his move back to France.
The Frenchman took control of the struggling Ligue 1 side this week, but his revelation has certainly put Slaven Bilic's future in doubt.
West Ham have struggled all season since their switch to the Olympic stadium, racking up just two wins from their opening eight Premier League fixtures.
They sit just a point above the relegation zone at the time of writing languishing in 15th place, and earlier in the season they were embarrassingly dumped out in the Europa League qualifiers.
It's a stark contrast to the side that finished seventh last campaign.
When asked by L'Equipe if he was tempted by the offer, Garcia said: "Obviously. I studied everything. Whether the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga. I went where I was wanted the most."
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Garcia, 52, also revealed that he spoke with Belgium for the position of national team boss before they went with Roberto Martinez.
He said: "I had a lot of proposals. My goal was to stay in a major European league or take a national team capable of winning the next World Cup.
"I am happy to be here. It is a great challenge, a new adventure, with a different direction.
"It is not starting from scratch, but there is much to build, and I like that.
"At all other clubs, I'd arrived as a replacement for a manager that had bad results. Here, this is not the case."
Rudi Garcia last managed Italian side Roma where he guided them to two runner-up spots in the 2013/14 and 2014/15 season, and with Lille he won a league and cup double in 2010/11.
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