Ligue 1 side Marseille have announced Andre Villas-Boas as their new coach,

Villas-Boas, who was most recently in charge of Chinese side Shanghai SIPG, replaces Rudi Garcia at the Ligue 1 club.

The former Tottenham and Chelsea boss has not had a managerial job since November 2017 after leaving Shanghai SIPG and he had been linked with Celtic.

But he has now taken the helm at the Stade Velodrome.

Villas-Boas, commonly known as AVB, has spent the past 18 months out of management following his decision to leave the Chinese Super League and has dabbled in motorsport, competing in the 2018 Dakar Rally.

The 41-year-old joined Chelsea from Porto – where he won the Europa League aged just 33 – in 2011 but joined Tottenham in 2012 when the Blues sacked him.

He also spent two years at Zenit in Russia where he won the league and Russian Cup before his stint in China. Villas-Boas had also recently been linked with becoming the new Celtic manager.

Marseille finished fifth in Ligue 1 this season, 30 points behind champions Paris Saint-Germain. They won the Champions League in 1993, while they were last champions of France in 2013.

“We’re delighted to bring in a coach whose success has been recognised at the highest level in Europe and the world,” Marseille owner Frank McCourt said.

“The philosophy and approach to the game of Andre Villas-Boas fits with what we want for OM and will contribute to revitalising our project after a disappointing season. Our expectations are still just as big and we will make the necessary changes to achieve our objectives.”