The relationship between Marseille and Argentine coach Jorge Sampaoli has come to an end in a mutual agreement between the two sides, according to what was announced on Friday by the French Football League’s second player.
Sampaoli, 62, arrived in Marseille in March 2021 and managed to take him to second place in the league behind champions Paris Saint-Germain last season, thus qualifying directly for the Champions League group stage.
“After 16 months of cooperation with Sampaoli, this work has allowed the club to take the next step in its new sporting project and qualify directly for the Champions League,” Marseille said in a statement posted on its website on Friday.
L’Olympique de Marseille et Jorge Sampaoli have announced a joint decision to collaborate.
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— Olympique de Marseille (@OM_Officiel) July 1, 2022
“We are happy with the path we have chosen and the feelings we have shared, but after much deliberation, both parties, keeping Marseille’s best interests in mind, have agreed to terminate this relationship.”
Sampaoli, the former coach of Argentina, Chelsea and Spanish club Sevilla, stressed last May that he needed more money to make the most of next season’s Champions League participation.
And earlier this year, Sampaoli asked reporters: “Do we want the Champions League for the money or the competition?” adding: “Playing in the Champions League means playing against big teams. To play a few matches and not be a real competitor seems counterintuitive to me.”
Marseille, the only French club to have won the Champions League (1993), have signed French defender Samuel Gigot from Spartak Moscow and young Solomon Isaac Touré from Le Havre in the current summer transfer period in preparation for a Champions League return for for the first time since 2020, but he lost in On the other hand, defensive midfielder Boubacar Camara for Aston Villa, while defender William Saliba returned to Arsenal after the end of his loan spell.
Source: AFP.