René Girard is chosen to coach the professional team of FC Nantes from the 2016/2017 season. A decision which generated a wave of protests on social networks because of his image as a defensive coach and, to a lesser extent, his Bordeaux past (historic rival of FC Nantes). The Nantes group Elmer Food Beat released a single in 1991 in praise of FC Nantes: “Du rififi dans la surface”. FC Nantes is thinking big during the 2018 summer transfer window, with the arrival of Anthony Limbombe for 8 million euros, which makes him the most expensive recruit in the club's history. He died following a plane crash in the English Channel while joining his new club, Cardiff City Football Club. But also that of a coach who had difficulty building a coherent and effective offensive animation. After the departure of Amine Erbate, the coach hands over the captain's armband to Mohsine, even with the presence of players older than him, the latter has the characteristics of a leader and Fakhir wishes to develop in him the sense of responsibility, which sometimes failed him.

This interruption is marked by the departure of several players who reached the end of their contract on June 30, 2020. These are Tanguy Kouassi, Adil Aouchiche, Thomas Meunier and Edinson Cavani, top scorer in the club's history. The coach who remained at the head of FC Nantes the longest was José Arribas, from 1960 to 1976, i.e. sixteen full seasons. Detailed article: Records of the Football Club de Nantes. The 2022-2024 season of the French football team begins in September 2022, with the continuation of the group phase of the 2022-2023 Nations League, of which the French are the title holders. As for the arrivals, former French internationals Claude Makélélé and Ludovic Giuly, at the end of their careers, are recruited to supervise the group. At the end of the first part of the season, the club was 5th in the standings, and the supporters began to dream of Europe. The team fails to maintain the quality of play of the first part, the defensive base being less solid. In terms of play, Nantes offers a defensive and closed game during this period, relying mainly on the counterattack to score its goals. His first match against Montpellier, on December 13, 2016, concerning the round of 16 of the Coupe de la Ligue, ended with a 3-1 victory, almost 10 months after the last three goals of FC Nantes at La Beaujoire (against the Gazéléc Ajaccio).

The 2017-2018 season started badly for the club with two defeats against Lille and Marseille, with respective scores of 3-0 and 1-0. The first match of the season against LOSC was highly anticipated and scrutinized by journalists because it pitted two renowned technicians: Claudio Ranieri and Marcelo Bielsa. Before the last day, Waldemar Kita and Claudio Ranieri announce that their collaboration ends there. Artur Jorge Braga de Melo Teixeira, more commonly known as Artur Jorge (born February 13, 1946 in Porto, Portugal) is a Portuguese footballer, who played as a striker, before becoming a coach. Dennis Oliech, born February 2, 1985 in Nairobi (Kenya), is a Kenyan international footballer who plays as a striker. But his arrival only makes things worse at FC Nantes which finds itself 18th, and after 7 matches and no victory, Domenech is replaced by Antoine Kombouaré, psg shirt 4th coach of the season counting the interim of Patrick Collot in December.

Jean Le Guillou succeeded him for three years, before the town hall of Nantes imposed a new president in the person of Charles Stephan, replaced by Jean Clerfeuille a few months later. Still in the race for Europe one month before the end of the championship, FC Nantes qualified for its first Coupe de France final in the 21st century by beating AS Monaco on penalties on March 2. The Nantes Football Club's record is the fourth in France in terms of number of professional French championship titles won (8), behind AS Saint-Étienne and Paris Saint-Germain with 10 titles, Olympique de Marseille with 9 titles, tied with AS Monaco and ahead of Olympique Lyonnais, who won seven titles. After winning their first match against Angers 3-1, FC Nantes de Kombouaré achieved the feat by winning at the Parc des Princes 2-1, after having been led 1-0 at half-time. 20 September 7, 2021 Décines-Charpieu, Lyon Olympic Park Finland G 2-0 É. If this made it possible to eliminate all traces of violence around the stadium, this security plan is also responsible for a sharp drop in attendance at the Parc des Princes and scared away the club's most fervent fans.