Olympique Marseille have reached an agreement in principle with Italian tactician Roberto De Zerbi.
Roberto De Zerbi To Olympique Marseille
The French side confirmed the breakthrough in talks with the former Brighton man via a statement that reads:
“Olympique de Marseille has announced that it has reached an agreement in principle with Roberto De Zerbi.
“The club is currently working with all parties involved to formalize the arrival of the Italian coach and his staff on the OM bench, and to prepare for his arrival in Marseille in the coming days.”
It is understood that De Zerbi has penned a three-year deal with Olympique Marseille, which runs until June 2027.
Brighton To Receive Compensation Fee For The Appointment Of Roberto De Zerbi By Marseille
Brighton will reportedly also receive about €6 million as compensation from the French side for the service of Roberto De Zerbi.
The 45-year-old exited the Seagulls at the expiration of the 2023/24 season, having led the English side to an 11th-place finish on the Premier League table.
Roberto De Zerbi tactically masterminded Brighton to the last 16 of the UEFA Europa League, before they were eliminated by AS Roma, following a 1-4 defeat on aggregate.
De Zerbi assisted the Seagulls to secure qualification to European football for the first time in the club’s history during the 2022/23 season and they did it fabulously.
Reports indicate that Roberto De Zerbi left Brighton following a disagreement with owner-chairman Tony Bloom about how the club should carry out its business in the transfer market.
The former Shakhtar Donetsk boss took the Seagulls to great heights after replacing Graham Potter on September 18, 2022, after the Englishman left the Amex for Chelsea.
Brighton played a lovely brand of football under the Italian and they developed talented players that have gone on to bigger clubs.
Alexis Mac Allister, Leandro Trossard, and Moises Caicedo, who joined Liverpool, Arsenal, and Chelsea respectively are some players who grew under the tutelage of De Zerbi.
Anyway, Roberto De Zerbi was linked with several top clubs after he departed from Brighton, including; Manchester United, Liverpool, and Chelsea.
The Red Devils have opted to continue their relationship with Erik Ten Hag, while Liverpool and Chelsea went for Arne Slot and Enzo Maresca respectively.
Olympique Marseille’s Poor 2023/24 Season
Moreover, Olympique Marseille ended the 2023/24 Ligue 1 season in eighth position under now-former boss Jean-Louis Gasset.
Gasset replaced Gennaro Gattuso as manager of the French giants in February 2024, with the hope of galvanizing the club to success.
Olympique Marseille’s underwhelming season was a complete contrast to their outing in the 2022/23 campaign, where they finished 3rd on the log and were hoping to build on their impressive display in the subsequent term.
Unfortunately, they didn’t achieve anything significant, bar individual brilliance from forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who was named the 2023/24 UEFA Europa League Player of the Season.
He scored 10 goals and provided 3 assists in 13 Europa League appearances to win the award.
The Gabonese netted 30 goals and provided 11 assists in 51 appearances across all competitions last term.
It will be interesting to see how Roberto De Zerbi will marshall Olympique Marseille in the upcoming season, as they aim for better fortunes in the 2024/25 season.
The Italian has taken charge of several clubs in his managerial career, including; Sassuolo, Shakhtar Donetsk, and Benevento.
De Zerbi has also won just one trophy in his managerial career – the Ukrainian Super Cup title.
