Still as excited by the rumors of the takeover of OM by Saudi Arabia, Marseille fans will find out in the coming days if Frank McCourt has a meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
A year after having landed in force in the Premier League, by buying Newcastle for 350 million euros, the PIF, the overpowering investment fund of Saudi Arabia, has approached OM to offer itself a Ligue 1 club? That’s what it says Sports Dailywho even announced, on September 30, that Franck McCourt, the owner of the Phocaeans, had scheduled a meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed Ben Salmane “ early September in the United States “.
Here we are. If the Boston businessman really meets “MBS” (at the head of the Saudi kingdom founded by his grandfather since 2017), it is because the sale of Olympique de Marseille is finally a reality. Olympian supporters await the outcome of this improbable and nebulous soap opera launched two and a half years ago. ” Everything is tied up, OM is sold, press release OK “, announced the independent journalist Thibaut Vezirian on February 5, 2021.
McCourt still in the capital?
Faced with these rumours, McCourt quietly waited to raise the stakes to visibly set the purchase price for OM at 300 million euros. always according to Sports Daily, the American wants to keep 30% of the club’s shares. The negotiations, if there really are any with the all-powerful Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, will relate to this participation or not, knowing that the PIF bought “only” 80% of Newcastle in October 2022.
For Frank McCourt, it may be time to sell OM at the right price. The non-qualification of the Phocaeans for the Champions League is a blow. Above all, the choice of Pablo Longoria to entrust the reins of the team to his friend Marcelino, a much more traditional coach than Jorge Sampaoli and Igor Tudor, has already been pointed out. The team presents a distressing face at the moment. A disaster season is possible and some Marseille supporters still dream more of Saudi Arabia…
