Congolese defender Chancel Mbemba is no longer a starter at OM. A journalist who follows the club thinks he knows why.
Chancel Mbemba was one of the very best Marseille players last season. Logic would have liked him to continue and start the new campaign in an indisputable starting role. But, curiously, this is not the case. Wednesday evening, during the match against Panathinaikos in the Champions League (0-1), he was on the bench.
Mbemba sanctioned by OM?
The Balerdi – Gigot duo was preferred to the Congolese back on this part. If the presence of the Frenchman in the eleven is not debatable since he is the new captain, the fact that the Argentinian passes in front of Mbemba seems surprising. What is the reason for this change in hierarchy?
Nabil Djellit, journalist for France Football, has his own idea on the matter. According to him, Mbemba is being sanctioned by his club. “At the end of last season, he appeared on Canal+ Afrique and said he was surprised that when he arrived at OM, he was not told that he was playing for the title. Maybe management didn’t like it. I would like to know more”, he declared on the L’Equipe channel.
The hypothesis in question holds. Pablo Longoria, the strongman of OM, may have put Mbemba on the list of players to transfer since this famous outing in the media. This would explain why his playing time has drastically reduced since then.
