A Printer Problem Nearly Derailed Da Cunha's Transfer to Lorient in 2022

Lucas Da Cunha plays in the Champions League with Como today and made his France debut under Zinédine Zidane. Yet the 25-year-old midfielder could have experienced a radically different trajectory had a Nice printer not run out of ink one transfer deadline evening.

On September 1, 2022, Da Cunha was on the verge of leaving OGC Nice for FC Lorient. Formed at Stade Rennais, he had played only 11 matches in two seasons with the Aiglons, but a six-month loan at Clermont — around fifteen matches — had been enough to convince Lorient and its new manager Régis Le Bris to bet on him. “It was the beginning of Régis Le Bris. There was a desire to recruit young players. We had brought in Adil Aouchiche, Chrislain Matsima. Lucas fit those criteria,” said a Lorient official.

But in the final hours of the transfer window, the deal derailed for a reason as trivial as it was definitive. The documents necessary for the transfer were submitted 32 seconds after the official closure of the summer window. “It was us who submitted the documents 32 seconds late. But it was Nice who lost track of the timing that evening,” clarified the Lorient official, before adding the suspected cause of the delay on the Nice side: “I believe they had run out of printer cartridges.”

The blow was harsh for the player. “He was disgusted at not signing for FCL,” reported his representative. Da Cunha ultimately remained in Nice’s orbit before joining Como, where he took on another dimension. Three years after this farcical episode, he is competing in Europe’s premier club competition and has worn the French national team jersey — an ascension that FC Lorient had glimpsed but a printer malfunction caused them to miss.