Inside Roberto De Zerbi’s wild ride at Marseille – TV bust-ups, European highs and a 2.35am exit

MARSEILLE – When Olympique Marseille president Pablo Longoria told the Daily Telegraph barely a fortnight ago that he wanted Roberto De Zerbi to become “our Simeone,” a decade-long dynasty sounded plausible. Instead, the Italian’s reign ended at 02:35 local time on Wednesday, announced in a terse club statement that closed one of the most turbulent chapters in recent Ligue 1 history.

De Zerbi leaves after 18 months, a second-place finish last season that returned Marseille to the Champions League for the first time since 2022, and a 57 per cent win-rate – the best of any OM coach this century. Yet the highs were matched by spectacular turbulence: training-ground flare-ups captured for club documentaries, a 15-game ban for Longoria after an extraordinary “corruption” rant, a 5-0 capitulation to Paris Saint-Germain, and a 3 a.m. training-camp wake-up call in Rome after a defeat at Reims.

The tipping point arrived on Sunday night in the French capital. Marseille were thrashed 5-0 by PSG, their heaviest Classique loss since 1978. Forty-eight hours later De Zerbi, Longoria, sporting director Medhi Benatia and owner Frank McCourt (on video link) met at La Commanderie and agreed there was “no way forward.” The club pushed the release out in the small hours to pre-empt leaks; by dawn the 45-year-old was heading back to Italy, the first time he has walked out on a club mid-season.

From flare-lit streets to flare-ups on camera

The memories of May 2024 still linger: De Zerbi, flare in hand, celebrating on the Canebière after guiding Marseille to runners-up spot. It secured Champions League revenue the club craved and convinced Longoria to back a summer overhaul – 12 signings including Igor Paixao, Angel Gomes, CJ Egan-Riley, Nayef Aguerd, Tim Weah and the return of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Luis Henrique was sold to Inter; Adrien Rabiot, after a dressing-room brawl with Jonathan Rowe in the opening-day defeat to Rennes, was dispatched to Milan.

Results lurched. Marseille lost at home to 10-man Rennes, were beaten by struggling Nantes after the winter break and surrendered a 95th-minute equaliser to PSG in the Trophee des Champions in Kuwait. Longoria labelled French officiating “a s****y championship” after a 3-0 loss to Auxerre in February and received a 15-game suspension; Marseille lost five of the next seven league matches.

Cameras filming an Amazon-style documentary caught De Zerbi ordering Canada midfielder Ismael Kone to “take a shower” and call his agent after a training-ground dispute. Kone left for Rennes on loan in February; after Murillo was berated in a video session following a 2-2 draw at Paris FC, the Panamanian was told he had no future and sold to Besiktas. “I want hunger,” De Zerbi explained. “If I don’t see it, I take decisions.”

European dream dissolves in 98th-minute chaos

Europe offered hope. Marseille beat Ajax and Newcastle and, going into the final league-phase night, sat 19th but poised for the knockout play-offs. Instead they collapsed 3-0 at Club Brugge and were eliminated when Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin headed a 98th-minute winner against Real Madrid to flip the goal-difference standings. Benatia spoke of “shame”; De Zerbi skipped training the next day, officially “unwell,” and held crisis talks with Longoria at Clairefontaine.

A 2-2 draw at Paris FC followed, then the 5-0 Classique rout. Ultras unveiled a banner – “No stability, ambition or balls, shame on you” – before a 3-0 Coupe de France win over Rennes briefly dulled the noise. It returned with a vengeance at Parc des Princes. Marseille flew home overnight, stayed at the training centre, and by Tuesday night the divorce was sealed.

What next?

Assistant coach Jacques Abardonado takes charge against Strasbourg on Saturday while a section of the Virage Nord will remain empty for the first 15 minutes in protest. McCourt will attend; Benatia, who reportedly offered his own resignation, stays for now. Lyon have surged to third; Lens stalk PSG at the summit. Fail to qualify for next season’s Champions League and the financial hole becomes a chasm.

De Zerbi, linked last summer with vacancies at Manchester United and Tottenham, again finds his name on shortlists. For Marseille, the search for a 36th manager since 2000 begins – and the circus shows no sign of leaving town.