Claude Puel explains why he opposed Hatem Ben Arfa’s return to Nice

“It could have been a horror”: Claude Puel has revisited his opposition to a return to Nice for Hatem Ben Arfa, which was considered last January. In an interview with Nice-Matin, the coach confirmed that he had examined the possibility, proposed by president Jean-Pierre Rivère, before ultimately rejecting it. He also confirmed information recently revealed by the newspaper, at a time when he was in charge of the Aiglons.

Jean-Pierre Rivère had returned to his role at the club a few weeks earlier, in December 2025, seeking to ease a serious crisis and begin the fight for survival. He tried to draw on approaches used in the past and contacted Ben Arfa to explore a possible return.

There was a shared history between the player and Puel. The coach led Nice from 2012 to 2016, a spell that ended with a fourth-place finish in the 2015-2016 season, with Ben Arfa in the squad.

Puel said he had been willing to assess the forward’s physical condition after a long spell away from the pitch: “I was happy for us to see where he was physically after so much time away from the pitch, even though he had played padel.” But the proposal met with reservations inside the club. When it was put to Puel, he reportedly reacted sceptically, particularly because it could have raised false hopes. That concern, despite his openness to a fitness assessment, led him to oppose the proposed return.