Until May 2022, everything looked perfect. Marseille found a new coach the year before, they finished this season in the second place after a disappointing 5th spot in 2021 and they managed to reach the semi-final of the Europa Conference League, where they were beaten by Feyenoord. But then, just after they announced their first season signing (a center back Isaak Toure), coach Jorge Sampaoli resigned from the spot in a move which the club characterized at ’mutual parting’. So what happened and why the coach with the best winning rate of any Marseille manager in the last 15 years (54%) bowed out so quickly?Jorge Sampaoli has left his role as Marseille manager due to their lack of ambition in the transfer market. Sampaoli felt the club should have done more to sign William Saliba permanently, but Arsenal, in particular Mikel Arteta, were not interested in selling. [@JacobsBen] #afc pic.twitter.com/bS0MHXaZW3— afcstuff (@afcstuff) July 1, 2022 Money would be the simplest answer. And the most logical one in the world of football. Sampaoli wanted good signings, footballers who would improve the squad and make Marseille competitive in the Champions League, but the clubs executives are aware of the difficult economic situation in the club and therefore were not able to comply with their coach’s wishes. Since Sampaoli’s contract was only for two years (until 2023), the Marseille president Pablo Longoria wanted to extend the Argentinian as soon as possible, but former Seville coach saw that as a form of pressure, because he wanted to see club’s commitment first. And he saw none.Transfer bomb in Marseille: Sampaoli is leaving the club!In a situation where Marseille was waiting the approval from French football’s financial regulator, without whom no club in France can sign players, Sampaoli wanted (as any coach would) to get the vast majority of his signings in July, when the pre-season starts. Longoria traveled with the director of football Javier RIbalta to Brazil, where the coach was on vacation and talked about the timing of the signings and the financial deals. As per L’Equipe, Sampaoli asked for serious players, like William Saliba (but not again on loan), Antoine Griezmann, or Lille’s Renato Sanches. Longoria explained that players like Griezmann, who earns little less than 2 million euros per month in Atletico are out of reach and that the club will look for cheaper options in August, which was unacceptable to Sampaoli. Another meeting followed when the two men decided that it’s best to go separate ways.Senegal’s Gueye: ’Sampaoli is the worst coach I ever had’Even without Sampaoli as a coach, Saliba remains on top of Marseille’s list and Longoria was asked about it at yesterday’s press conference. “William Saliba’s story is like a love story. He had extraordinary performances last year with the club. He’s said many times how good he feels here. We would be very happy to have a player of that level. But there is another part. It doesn’t depend on William Saliba, nor on Marseille. You have Arsenal and that club has to be respected with its strategies, its ambitions for the transfer window. I would be the happiest person in the world if tomorrow we had a player of William Saliba’s level” said Marseille’s president.Olympique de Marseille are progressing in talks for Igor Tudor as new coach after Jorge Sampaoli left the club. ⚪️🔵 #TeamOMNegotiations ongoing – he’s in pole position. Total agreement not reached yet but feelings are quite positive. Work in progress for a 2-years-contract. pic.twitter.com/hLw6EoiFlj— Luca Bendoni (@LucaBendoni) July 2, 2022 Former coach Sampaoli decided to say goodbye to the fans via his Instagram profile. „From my arrival at Marseille, I felt at home, as if I’d lived there all my life. OM is a passion. Every time I’ve walked into the Velodrome, my heart was bursting out. Last season has been incredible. Being manager of this club has been a pleasure for me. I was very happy. My rhythm and objectives are not the same as those of the management. There’s nothing wrong with wanting different things. The important thing is searching for excellence and wanting what’s best for OM. I would like to thank club president Pablo Longoria and his team for placing their trust in me. Thank you to the players for making football such a beautiful sport. Thank you to the club’s employees for giving their all for the team. Thank you to the supporters, as without them none of this would have any meaning. Until another time, Jorge Sampaoli” whote the Argentinian. ##NAJAVA_MECA_6486283##The new coach is all but signed. It will be a relatively unexperienced coach (considering the size of Marseille) Igor Tudor, whose biggest success came with Hellas Verona in Serie A last season, when he drowe them to the 9th place but parted ways with the club in May. He is expected to sign a two year deal and won’t be so ’enthusiastic’ as Sampaoli when it comes to singing players.
