No punches pulled
Medhi Benatia has decided to talk, and he talks straight. In an interview with France Football, the former OM executive lays the blame for the club’s finances sliding deep into the red at the feet of the old regime. The sharper charge is what follows. He says the real picture was kept from him.
The Moroccan walked away at the end of last season. He had actually wanted out back in February, in the wreckage of that 5-0 hiding at the Parc des Princes. Frank McCourt asked him to stay and finish the job. Benatia said yes.
Try it for $0.99.
The row over the money
His version is cold and specific. The scale of the problem only hit him, he says, when the moment came to reinforce the squad. “OK, but can we actually improve the team?” he put to McCourt. Back came the frost: “Can’t you see the situation?”
So he got busy. Robinio Vaz sold to Roma for 30 million euros. Bakola shipped to Sassuolo for something like 12 million. The wage bill shrank. The trouble was, the hole had already been dug long before he picked up a shovel.
Longoria in his sights
There is no mystery about who Benatia is pointing at. He singles out Pablo Longoria and that “35 moves every transfer window” churn. Across two and a half years, by his count, OM sold for 259 million and spent 275. Nearly a wash, and not the good kind.
The context cuts both ways, mind. When he arrived late in 2023, the club sat under the DNCG’s gaze but still had real money flowing in from TV rights, funding and investment. Strip out the Champions League cash and Marseille are boxed into a corner. You only had to watch this summer’s window to see it.
Discover the rest of the football news on our website and the mathodds app!
in your pocket.
Real-time notifications & alerts
Leave a Reply