Fabrizio Ravanelli has disappeared from the radar. The Italian legend of OM, institutional and sporting advisor since January 2024, has been very discreet in recent months. No longer present at the edge of the training ground, absent from major trips, confined to distant functions. In April 2025, during the final sprint of last season, Ravanelli was not invited to the team greening in Rome. A choice that owes nothing to chance. Pablo Longoria, with the agreement of Medhi Benatia, reframed the former striker. The message was clear: “Get closer to the sports sector. » But why this sidelining?
Ravanelli, a departure for Italy in preparation?
The secret lies in Ravanelli's deemed excessive proximity to certain groups of Marseille supporters. Relations which have strained the management, in particular Pablo Longoria, who maintains tense relations with certain fringes of the shift. Benatia, who arrived as an advisor in November 2023 before becoming sports director in January 2025, took power at OM. And in its organizational chart, there is no room for historical figures who do not fit the mold. Ravanelli was therefore asked to concentrate solely on his institutional role. No more interventions in the sports sector.
In October 2025, the situation took a new turn. According to several sources, Ravanelli could leave OM to return to Italy and help his training club Perugia, in great difficulty in Serie C. The Italian club would have contacted him, and the former scorer would have agreed to discuss. A departure that would surprise Longoria and Benatia, who were counting on his stability in his institutional role. But obviously, Ravanelli no longer has his place in the Benatia version of OM.
Benatia, the strong man of OM
This Ravanelli affair illustrates Medhi Benatia's total control over the club. The Moroccan controls everything: communication, performance, work of the different internal sections. He placed relatives in strategic positions, including Thomas Heurtaux, his former teammate at Udinese, as Roberto De Zerbi's “sports interpreter”. During matches, Heurtaux would be in constant contact with Benatia via WhatsApp. Historical figures have been sidelined: Jean-Pierre Papin, Ballon d'Or 1991, left his position as reserve coach after a conflict with Ali Zarrak, Benatia's right-hand man. Marco Otero, director of the training center, was fired. And now Ravanelli.
Marseille supporters did not make this affair a major scandal. In October 2024, during the Classico against PSG, a tifo representing Ravanelli was deployed at the north turn. But overall, fans remain satisfied with Benatia's work on the transfer window and sporting results. Has Benatia become too powerful? Or is it precisely this iron fist that OM needed? The debate remains open. But one thing is certain: in Marseille, it is Benatia who decides. And Ravanelli learned it the hard way.
