Julien Stephan has officially been unveiled as the new head coach at RC Strasbourg, after signing a three-year deal with the club.

The 40-year-old succeeds Thierry Laurey who guided the club to Ligue 1 promotion in 2017 and the Coupe de la Ligue title in 2019. 

Stephan returns to the helm of a top-tier club almost three months after stepping down from his role at Rennes, where he clinched the Coupe de France title in 2019 and led the club to its first ever Champions League last season.  

"The president [Marc Keller] was very convincing, and the fact that I was arriving at a very healthy club with a passionate environment, were two important criteria for me," Stephan said during his presentation.

"It happened very, very quickly. We had our first telephone call on Monday afternoon, and then it all happened.

"It became obvious to me as soon as we met. I am very happy to arrive at Racing Club Strasbourg.

"The expectations here are high. There is a lot of passion, a lot of fervor, and that's something I find very exciting.

"I feel very fortunate to be the coach of RC Strasbourg today, I think that many coaches would like to be in my place.

"I find that there is a lot of humility here and the ambition to progress, but to do things in the right order.

"This is something that I liked and that motivated me. When you have the chance to work in an environment like this, I think you have to seize the opportunity and I am very happy to have done so."