Relegated with Nantes, Anthony Lopes bounces back to Angers for two seasons

Anthony Lopes has signed a two-season contract with Angers SCO, announced by the Angevin club on Monday. The 35-year-old Portuguese goalkeeper, free after Nantes’ relegation to Ligue 2, joins his third Ligue 1 club, with an option for an additional year.

Lopes left Lyon in December 2024 after twenty-five years at the Rhône club, where he had become one of its emblematic figures. His spell with the Canaries was short-lived: Nantes dropped to Ligue 2 just weeks before his contract expired, freeing him on the free agent market.

Angers highlights the weight of his experience to justify the recruitment. “With a total of 553 professional matches, including 427 in Ligue 1, he is an experienced goalkeeper who is settling in Anjou,” the SCO stated in its official statement. The club, promoted to Ligue 1 for next season, thus secures a last line of defence with a substantial record to tackle the return to the elite.

Absent from Portugal national team call-ups since 2022, Lopes does not appear to be considering retirement soon. At 35, he begins a new cycle with Angers’ Black and White, where he will have to establish himself in a squad undergoing reconstruction.