Olympique de Marseille has not lacked ambition during the last summer transfer windows. Under the leadership of its president Pablo Longoria and its director of football Mehdi Benatia, the club has enjoyed several successes on the transfer market. The arrivals of Mason Greenwood, Adrien Rabiot, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are among the winning bets of recent seasons.
However, the vice-champion of France also had his share of failures. Among them, we include the non-signing of Spanish striker Luis Alberto in the summer of 2024. While he was still playing at Lazio Rome, the 33-year-old finally chose to give in to the Qatari sirens rather than join Canebière.
The big contrast
“It was a bit difficult to make the decision to sign for Qatar”the attacker recently declared, in comments reported by Sky Sport Italia.
Luis Alberto, however, deplores the contrast in enthusiasm of supporters between the Old Continent and the Gulf. “For example, in Europe we are used to full stadiums, so it was a little complicated to accept at the beginning. It was a radical change because if I have to be honest, the level of football here is not the same at all”he added.
