Marseille's worst transfer window in Europe? The stat 🥶 These are tough times for Marseille supporters.
On Tuesday night, the transfer window closed, bringing to an end a very long summer for OM and its supporters. So now it is time to take stock of this Olympian transfer window, which was unlike any other.
Initial needs Right from the start, the message had been very clear: OM had to sell, and sell in large numbers. So it was clear that the Marseille management would focus on offloading the club’s biggest wages, but a few signings were still expected to make up for certain departures, especially in attack. But that aspect, like the rest of the transfer window, proved very difficult for the sporting management of the Phocaean club to pull off.
Arrivals Zero, zilch, nothing at all. This year, there was no grand welcome at Marignane with flares and fanfare. And for good reason: OM have just wrapped up a transfer window without a single signing and probably take the prize for the worst transfer window in Europe. The Marseille side are quite simply the only club in Europe’s top five leagues, along with Athletic Club, not to have signed a single player this summer. But unlike OM, the Bilbao club have "mitigating circumstances," given that they only recruit players who were born in, have ancestry from, or were trained in the Basque Country. So their recruitment pool is naturally limited, and they rely mainly on youth development.
Departures This was the area where OM needed to be very active. While they seem to have managed that, it was once again a long and very complicated process. In the end, eight players left the club, and it could even have been more were it not for a few last-minute failures (Hojbjerg to Newcastle and Aguerd to Real Sociedad), as well as pressure from supporters and Bruno Genesio in the Paixao case. This summer, OM therefore recorded the departures of Mason Greenwood (Fenerbahçe), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Deportivo La Coruña), Facundo Medina (Bayer Leverkusen), Leonardo Balerdi (AS Roma), Quinten Timber (Crystal Palace), Geronimo Rulli (Manchester City), Bilal Nadir (Hamburg) and Hamed Traoré (Genoa), for a total fee of around €80 million. According to Transfermarkt, the value of OM’s squad therefore fell from €484.8 million at the end of last season to €181.8 million at the close of this transfer window.
Outlook for the season When you look at Olympique de Marseille’s starting XI, it seems more than strong enough to compete in Ligue 1 despite a real lack of depth in midfield. And with a coach of Bruno Genesio’s caliber, a top-five finish does not seem like an unrealistic objective. However, the squad looks far too thin to also compete fully in the Coupe de France and the Europa League. OM will therefore sometimes have to make choices and manage their schedule wisely to get the most out of this season. The winter transfer window will also have to be watched closely, as Marseille may once again be tempted to sell a few players.
Our rating for OM’s transfer window 2/10. The score is harsh, but this transfer window was far too chaotic to deserve any more. Yes, OM sold players, but not particularly well, with the exception of Quinten Timber. Balerdi has been loaned out with an option to buy (€14m) that seems far below the value he still had a year ago, and Mason Greenwood’s transfer would barely allow OM to break even. Add to that a late communication of the club’s real ambitions and room for maneuver in terms of arrivals, and you have the perfect recipe for an exhausting and frustrating transfer window. Marseille still managed to significantly reduce their wage bill, even if a few very highly paid players are still at the club. This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.