He signed a contract of “ Lifetime Olympian », concluding a pact with President Pablo Longoria to return to OM, his favorite club, as soon as his professional player’s crampons are hung up. Dimitri Payet in Marseille, eight and a half seasons of intense passion, 326 matches played and a combo of 78 goals and 82 assists. Above all, an emblematic element, sometimes tempestuous, viscerally attached to the Marseille club.
“ He should thank me every day for bringing him back to Olympique de Marseille! », Launches a bit bitter Rudi Garcia about the Reunion playmaker, in an interview given this weekend to the YouTube channel lemediacarre. A key player in his squad while he was officiating in Marseille and yet who is barely mentioned by the strategist who worked for Roma: “ I tried to give importance to him, as well as to Flo Thauvin. But it was difficult to get them to live together… »
Bafé Gomis cited as an example
Here is the enmity between the two strong men of a certain era of OM brought back to the forefront. Florian Thauvin himself had recently addressed this delicate subject by recalling the origins of their cold – a simple locker room misunderstanding a priori. On the other hand, Rudi Garcia is full of praise for Thauvin and another Olympian of the time: “ I especially had two players who pulled the team together: Flo Thauvin and Bafé Gomis. I regret not having kept it after my first season. If the club had kept Bafé, I would have won the French championship and the Europa League with OM “, proclaims the technician, now 60 years old.
The famous Europa League campaign which in 2018 resulted in an unfortunate final in Lyon, won by Atlético de Madrid (0-3) – a journey which remains in the memories and forever etched in the retina of Rudi Garcia. “ I don’t think I’ve ever experienced this anywhere else. For that alone, I am happy to have moved to Olympique de Marseille… We had experienced an incredible human adventure! »
