Frank McCourt has been to Marseille in recent days, and it’s not to announce good news to Pablo Longoria. OM’s finances are no longer stretchable, and the owner is breaking away from the Provençal club.
Arrived in Marseille this weekend to talk about Olympique de Marseille with its leaders and its new coach, Frank McCourt took the opportunity to make things clear. The owner of the Provençal club has often been the benefactor of the Marseille transfer window, adding from his pocket to carry out several operations, in particular to recruit the striker who was to take OM to the heights again. This was the case for Arkadiusz Milik, Mario Balotelli, Dario Benedetto, Vitinha or Kostas Mitroglou, without necessarily being successful, especially over time. At a time when the third in the last championship is looking for at least two top strikers, the arrival of the American businessman was not considered trivial.
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And yet, according to L’Equipe, Frank McCourt has mainly put things right regarding the month and a half of the transfer window that remains. Unlike other years, he does not intend to add money from his pocket to complete operations, and therefore asked Javier Ribalta and Pablo Longoria to manage with the current budget and finances to recruit. The Boston native believes he has done enough in recent years to let his club survive without outside help. Especially since Marseille has less interest in his eyes, since L’Equipe claims that the real estate interests he owned have been abandoned by the American. Proof of his gradual estrangement from OM, even if this mainly risks reigniting rumors about the sale of the club.
Saudi Arabia always announced in the background
Indeed, Saudi interests have been discussed for weeks, months or even years, and the fact that McCourt decides not to put any more personal money in the club’s coffers can be seen as a sign that he is the time for him to move on. Everyone will see there the message they want to perceive according to the camp in which they find themselves, since even the last copious investments of OM McCourt version on the transfer market were sometimes perceived as marks of the presence of Saudi investors eager to strengthen the Provençal club before settling there. In any case, for the moment, Pablo Longoria will have to recruit with the means at hand. And even if the Marseille president does not lack ideas, Frank McCourt’s decision will not help him find the rare pearl in front.
