Nine-time Ligue 1 champions, but not since 2010, Marseille, settled for third place in the 2022/23 season campaign. That wasn’t enough for manager Igor Tudor, who wandered through the exit door after just one year in charge at the Stade Velodrome.
Now, OM’s new head coach Marcelino has been readying himself for the next campaign, and he says he will respect the club’s values and culture as he tries to turn their fortunes around. Marseille have been forced to look on since 2010, as their Classique rivals Paris Saint-Germain have picked up title after title despite the Parisiens’ off-field rows which never seem to cease.
Marcelino has become OM’s fifth head coach in seven years, and he is working outside his native Spain for the first time. But he does bring title winning pedigree, leading Valencia to the Copa del Rey triumph in 2019 and Athletic Bilbao to a first trophy in 37 years when they won the Spanish Super Cup in 2021.
When he was unveiled as manager, Marcelino said: “We know the demands of the supporters and our ambition is that they will be proud of this team. The only mentality is to win,” he continued. “If we have a Ligue 1 match, we have to win, and the same goes for the French Cup and the Champions League.”
That will be music to the OM fans’ ears who have not tasted any silverware success in over a decade.
Marseille finished second in the league in 2022 but took a step back last season.
Marcelino has a good relationship with club president Pablo Longoria, who he worked with at Valencia, and now he needs to strengthen his squad before the start of the Champions League qualifiers in just over a month’s time.
One priority is to keep former Arsenal striker Alexis Sanchez at the club after the Chilean striker put in an impressive performance last term, scoring 18 goals in 44 appearances in all competitions and showed at 34 years of age he is still a top class goal scorer.
Sanchez’s goals took OM to Champions League qualification but, as we speak, he has not yet agreed to sign a contract extension with rumours in the French press suggesting the club has made a lower offer than expected.
OM desperately need more firepower and a full-back. And if Sanchez is to leave, then at least two strikers are needed.
With only Geoffrey Kondogbia through the door so far after completing an €8 million move from Atletico Madrid, Marcelino has plenty of work to do.
PSG and Real Madrid are round the table on Mbappe
In other Ligue 1 2023 news, Paris Saint-Germain star striker Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid are entering an intense period of negotiations. Following his rather public announcement that he would not sign a contract extension to his current deal which expires in 2024, Los Blancos’ ears pricked up and the PSG money men started to scramble.
There have been some confusing messages from Mbappe who then said he wanted to see out his contract at the Parc des Princes, but that is far from ideal for the club, who could pocket a fee of €200 million should he leave.
But one stumbling block is Mbappe’s loyalty bonus at PSG which the France star is reluctant to give up. The French champions and the Spanish giants are stepping up negotiations and, should they come to an agreement, the deal could happen very quickly as Los Blancos want to waste no time in replacing their departed goal machine Karim Benzema.
Here at SBOTOP, we have been keeping a close eye on this story and will be back with more news as it unfolds.
Behind the scenes, the PSG recruitment team is working hard and have contracts lined up – and in some cases signed – for the incoming quartet of forward Marco Asensio, wing-back Lucas Hernandez, centre-back Milan Skriniar, and Real Mallorca’s highly-rated attacking midfielder Kang-In Lee.
All four have real pedigree and, while the latest Ligue 1 2023 betting odds suggest they will be hot favourites again next season, PSG hope their new recruits will strengthen the club’s chances in Europe.
And PSG are in the hunt for Celta Vigo’s rising star Gabri Veiga, who can play in the centre of the park or as an attacking midfielder. With six Spain U21 caps to his name, he has a bright future with La Roja, and he scored 11 goals and made four assists in a sparkling campaign last year.
With a host of Premier League clubs tracking their young player, Celta may find it hard to keep hold of Veiga, who has a release clause of €40 million, and that is a price the Parisiens will also be happy to pay.
But they will have to convince the young star that the Premier League is not the only place to be for the world’s best players, and he would be following the likes of Messi, Neymar, and maybe even Mbappe.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
