St Etienne president Bernard Caiazzo has admitted talks with New York City FC coach Patrick Vieira over the summer.

The former Manchester City U23 boss revealed this week he had spoken to ASSE about taking the manager's job.

Caiazzo confirmed: "We met him on a Tuesday, we had lunch with Roland Romeyer and Dominique Rocheteau. We stayed until 5pm to discuss, and when I left I thought it was hard to bring him here.

"Patrick told us that City officials would understand that it was good for his career. He was sure of it, I said to myself that they were mid-season ... Money was not a reason, but it was mid-season MLS. As soon as Patrick told us on Thursday that it was not possible, we had Oscar Garcia who was for us someone really reliable.

"And from Friday, we went to Barcelona and the contract was signed. But Patrick had made a very good impression, I saw with him a bit like (Zinedine) Zidane with Real Madrid with a possibility of success and someone very humble."