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Mehdi Benatia Reflects on Turbulent Marseille Stint, Vows to Speak Freely
🇲🇦 Morocco /Sports

Mehdi Benatia Reflects on Turbulent Marseille Stint, Vows to Speak Freely

From Hespress · () Arabic

Translated from Arabic, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

Interview Named sources Context piece
  • Mehdi Benatia, former director of football at Olympique Marseille, reflected on his turbulent two-and-a-half-year tenure with the French club.
  • Benatia admitted to bearing responsibility for some failures and criticized former president Pablo Longoria and certain players.
  • He stated he left Marseille without any financial compensation or a non-disclosure agreement, asserting, "There is no need to buy my silence."

Mehdi Benatia, the former director of football for Olympique Marseille, has spoken candidly about his tumultuous two-and-a-half-year stint with the French club, which ended in a disorderly fashion. In an exclusive interview with France Football, Benatia expressed a degree of sadness over the conclusion of his time at Marseille, admitting he wished to have left after securing Champions League qualification. He described the experience as "draining" and a "constant war."

I feel a little sad after the end of my experience with Marseille. I wish I had left the club after securing qualification for the Champions League.

— Mehdi BenatiaBenatia expressed his feelings about the end of his tenure as director of football at Olympique Marseille.

Benatia asserted that he chose to remain true to himself during his tenure, confronting issues head-on rather than avoiding them. He aimed to address and overcome what he termed the "deep-rooted average level" within the club. The former Moroccan international acknowledged his share of responsibility for certain failures, particularly the departure of a coach due to an inability to maintain consistent team intensity across matches.

I don't complain about anything, we are lucky people, but this experience drained me. It was a constant war.

— Mehdi BenatiaBenatia described the demanding nature of his role at Olympique Marseille.

However, Benatia defended himself against accusations regarding Marseille's financial situation. He dismissed claims that he left the club with 15 out of 23 required players needing to be sold, noting that frequent transfer window changes predated his arrival. He also criticized the conduct of some players, accusing them of selectively performing well and questioning the owner's perspective on players dancing and singing during pre-season training.

The departure of the coach after failing to find the formula that allowed the team to play two consecutive matches with the same intensity makes me responsible too, by virtue of my position as football director.

— Mehdi BenatiaBenatia accepted some responsibility for coaching changes during his time at the club.

Reflecting on a moment of perceived "betrayal" before a match against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions Trophy, Benatia emphasized his departure from Marseille without any payment for silence or a confidentiality agreement. "When I left Marseille, I asked for zero and signed nothing related to confidentiality. There is no need to buy my silence. What I have to say is very expensive, and the truth has no price," he stated.

There is no need to buy my silence. What I have to say is very expensive, and the truth has no price.

— Mehdi BenatiaBenatia asserted his freedom to speak about his experiences at Marseille without any contractual restrictions.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hespress in Arabic. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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