Back at Inter, Alexis Sanchez claims to have initially wanted to return to OM. Pablo Longoria does not claim the opposite this Monday.
Alexis Sanchez threw a stone into the pond on Friday by saying goodbye to OM. ” I would like to dispel some rumors and confirm that my intention was to continue at Marseille. I’ve always said it, but the agreements depend on two parties, not just me… and this time the technical staff had other options. Back at Inter, the Chilean striker was able to pass for a mercenary this summer, an ungrateful man who would have seized the first opportunity to leave Marseille after relaunching his career there. It is not so.
This Monday at a press conference, during the presentation of Joaquin Correa, Pablo Longoria did not contradict El nino maravilla. ” First of all, I would like to thank Alexis Sanchez for everything he has given us, especially competitiveness. A player of this level who believed in the project, he had a very good season, scored 18 goals in all competitions. At the same time, as leaders, we are forced to make decisions. In this case, there was a change of coach, during the summer, a collective, and all the decisions that we take, we do so in consensus, with the technical staff. We analyzed the team, our needs in the offensive sector. I consider that football is a very collective sport, not individual, and we must seek the greatest complementarity between the offensive players “, said the boss of the Olympians.
“The best decision for the collective”
In other words, it is for the sake of cohesion and collective coherence that OM did not wish to extend the adventure with Alexis Sanchez. ” We wanted to make Aubameyang, Iliman Ndiaye and Vitinha, three players with profiles that fit perfectly together, we wanted a versatile player like Correa, for a long time, with his ball control in counter-attacks. We also have the possibility of Amine Harit, capable of playing on the left as well as on the right. We analyzed until the last moment the possibility of Alexis to see how it was complementary. But unfortunately, we thought we were making the best decision for the collective, insists Pablo Longoria. In the minds of the leaders and when building the workforce, it is normal that the Sanchez case is still topical in the discussions. It was important to see if it was complementary. A workforce is made with a lot of analysis, discussions with the staff, the recruiters… (…) We abandoned the Alexis trail in the last few weeks. »
Read also: All the transfer window news
As for the instability pointed out by many OM supporters for three years, the Marseille president justifies it as follows: “ We change players because football is collective, and we change the way of playing at the base. When you have results, it’s easier to build. With the coaching changes, we are focused on a consensus with him, we want to build with Marcelino as we did with Jorge (Sampaoli) and with Igor (Tudor). Changes can cause instability, but if it’s to improve… I’m looking to improve in everything, to analyze mistakes, but also to improve the squad. We are focused on that. The different circumstances and the evolution of the project. (…) This season, the club’s finances are in a better state, we can plan better. (…) We are looking to plan for the medium term, we want continuity, when the financial situation is better, it’s simpler. »
