Richard opens a second door
Four days. That is all Marseille have left, and the plan is no longer only about selling. Stephane Richard said so on Friday in the mixed zone, on the sidelines of the Europa League draw, when he confirmed that some of his players were ready to earn less.
“It is not necessarily a case of moving players on. We have a wage bill target, and it has been submitted and approved by the DNCG,” he said from the off.
Then came the detail that mattered: “We are having fairly encouraging talks with some players in the squad we would like to keep, and they are prepared to make sacrifices, to make efforts to lower their salary, to spread it out… That can help us get there too, it is not just about departures.”
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Lorenzi has been chasing this number since June
The direction has not changed. Since arriving this summer, Gregory Lorenzi has had one priority: bring the wage bill back inside the limits set by the DNCG. The sporting director repeated it on Friday, in the same place and at the same hour as his president.
So there are two levers. Sell, which OM are already doing with the Balerdi and Paixao files. Or renegotiate downwards, spreading the payments out, for the players the club actually wants to keep.
That second route is rare in Ligue 1. It rests on each player’s individual agreement, it cannot be imposed, and it is a nightmare to close in a matter of days.
Tuesday night, and not an hour later
The window shuts on Tuesday. Any departure has to be signed off before then. Every euro saved on wages is one less forced sale, and one less hole in a squad that has already been pulled apart and rebuilt once this summer.
No names. Richard did not say how many players are involved, or how deep the concessions would go. A club chief saying this out loud still counts for something, though. It puts the negotiations in public view, and it quietly leans on the ones who have not given an answer yet.
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