OM: Medhi Benatia resigns (official)

Olympique de Marseille confirmed on Sunday that football director Medhi Benatia has tendered his resignation, ending a tenure that began with the ambition of returning the Ligue 1 giants to the summit of French and European football.

In a candid statement released after days of mounting speculation, the 36-year-old Moroccan said he had “handed in (and not just offered)” his resignation on Monday, 9 February, citing a deteriorating climate around the club and a desire to prevent his presence from becoming “an obstacle or a burden to the organization and its development.”

Benatia, who stepped into the sporting director role with the stated “obsession” of restoring OM to “the place it deserves,” insisted the sporting project remains on track: Marseille are still pursuing a Champions League berth and are alive in the Coupe de France. Yet he conceded that “results are the only true judge” in Marseille, and acknowledged a “growing dissatisfaction” and “a rift that I deeply regret.”

“Given the tensions surrounding management,” Benatia wrote, “the club will always come before individuals.” He added that he leaves “with the feeling that I gave my all professionally, but with the regret of not having managed to calm the environment around the squad,” urging supporters to “stay behind them… as only you can.”

The former Bayern Munich and Juventus defender closed his farewell with a rallying cry: “Marseille is and will always be special: ‘Allez l’OM’,” promising to elaborate on his decision “when the time is right.”

OM now begin the search for a new football director ahead of a season-defining stretch in which European qualification and domestic silverware remain within reach.