Florian Thauvin made a surprising revelation in an interview with So Foot this week. The current RC Lens player confesses to having let Pablo Longoria, president of Olympique de Marseille, believe that he was going to extend with the club… when he already knew that he was going to sign up with the Tigres in Mexico in 2021.
“We are reaching the month of February-March and things are not progressing. And then comes Mexico. At the same time, Pablo Longoria made me a great offer to stay, we agreed, but three weeks or a month later I still had not received the contracts. One day, by chance, I met Longoria in the parking lot, who said to me “that’s okay, do we agree and everything?”, and I told him yes, even though discussions were progressing very strongly with Tigres, and I knew I was going to leave. »
Before adding: “I immediately called my mother to tell her: ‘Mom, I did something stupid.’ I didn’t dare tell him no. I really blamed myself, because Pablo didn’t deserve that. When I met him again, I apologized. »
What reception for him at the VĂ©lodrome?
A sincere confession, but one which inevitably revives some mixed memories about the end of his Marseille adventure. Thauvin, 2018 world champion, nevertheless remains one of OM’s most notable players of the 21st century, with his goals, his full seasons and his displayed attachment to the club.
On January 24, he will return to the Orange Vélodrome with Lens. And while it is likely that the reception will be generally benevolent, some supporters could criticize him for his past statements about the city or, now, his admission regarding Longoria. But Thauvin has long been appreciated in Marseille, and the fervor of the Vélodrome also knows how to salute the veterans. We also remember that André Ayew received a standing ovation last season after his goal with Le Havre against the Phocaeans.
