On the eve of taking its first steps in the Europa League on the charged Besiktas field, Olympique de Marseille are preparing to plunge into a real inferno. In the hell of Istanbul, Bruno Genesio’s men know they are waiting around the corner. Consequence of a particularly alarming sporting dynamic.
Stuck in a worrying thirteenth place in Ligue 1 after a completely failed start to the season – marked by three defeats in the first four days – the Marseille club is approaching this continental clash without the slightest certainty. The turbulence of a chaotic summer transfer window, completed without the slightest reinforcement to support the squad, only increased the pressure around the Olympian club.
However, beyond purely sporting doubts, it is behind the scenes that the preparation for this European campaign has taken a surprising turn. As revealed
The Teamthe Marseille management very seriously weighed the pros and cons of a pure and simple package before validating its participation in the C3. Recently caught by the financial patrol and heavily sanctioned by UEFA – a fine of 10 million euros accompanied by a suspended exclusion from the next European games – OM questioned the advisability of competing in this competition.
A significant financial windfall
The idea of ​​keeping a low profile and sacrificing a European season was nothing new: giants of the continent like AC Milan or Juventus Turin have already agreed, in the past, to skip the Europa League or the Conference League in order to ease the pressure from the European body and definitively clean up their accounts.
After intense reflection, the Marseille decision-makers finally chose not to give up the competition. The Europa League remains a sporting showcase and remains synonymous with a significant financial windfall. Although the C3 allocations remain far removed from the staggering sums distributed in the Champions League, they offer valuable revenue to replenish coffers in the red. On the other hand, the choice would have been diametrically different if the club had been transferred to the more modest Conference League: in this specific scenario, OM would indeed have declined the invitation.
