The Ivorian Football Association have failed to land Hervé Renard “on loan” from the France women’s team for the rest of the Africa Cup of Nations.
The FA had approached their French counterparts to have Renard take over the Elephants until the end of Afcon.
Ivory Coast, who failed to get an automatic qualification to the Round of 16, sacked their head coach Jean-Louis Gasset following a 4-0 loss at the hands of Equatorial Guinea.
After securing the knockout stage berth as one of the the best placed second runners, the hosts are hoping to start afresh under a new technical management.
But having Renard in charge will be impossible after the talks failed.
The gaffer confirmed the news to French broadcaster Canal Plus, as cited by ESPN.
“The negotiations did not finish favorably, it’s because it shouldn’t have been,” the 55-year-old revealed.
“I’d have loved it but fate chose otherwise.”
Interim coach Emerse Faé will likely stay in charge for the game against defending champion Senegal in Yamoussoukro on Monday.