First, Marseille coach De Zerbi had to go. Then OM sporting director Medhi Benatia personally negotiated with potential successor Habib Beye. Now the bombshell: Benatia is resigning from his position.
Chaos reigns at Olympique Marseille on the Côte d’Azur.
In a complete surprise, Medhi Benatia is stepping down after just over a year as sporting director. The former center back, who played for FC Bayern for two seasons, among others, initially worked as an advisor at OM after his playing career before being promoted to sporting director in early 2025.
Resignation via Instagram
Last Sunday, Benatia announced on his official Instagram account that he wanted to leave the club. In a long letter, he addressed the fans directly. “Despite recent disappointments, the project is progressing in sporting terms, but I cannot ignore the current climate. I sense a growing dissatisfaction, a rift that I deeply regret.”
Apparently, there has been a major rift in the OM management, which the 38-year-old also mentions directly. “You know my openness and transparency; therefore, in view of the tensions surrounding the management, I have actually submitted my resignation, because in my opinion, the club will always come before the individual, and I don’t want my presence to become an obstacle to development.” Benatia also announced that he had already made his decision a week ago, on February 9.
Things have been going wrong at OM since the turn of the year
Things have not been going well for Olympique since the start of the new year. Everything seemed fine until the winter break, with the club sitting in third place in the league and 16th in the Champions League. Then came a period of inconsistency across all competitions. First, Marseille suffered a curious defeat to PSG in the Super Cup, conceding a last-minute counterattack despite leading and then losing their nerve in the subsequent penalty shootout. Then the club threw away the Champions League play-offs with two 0-3 defeats against Liverpool and in Bruges. In the end, they were one goal short of advancing. After being knocked out of the Champions League, Benatia found clear words and spoke of a “shitty evening” on which the players should “examine their consciences.”
The crisis at OM became really apparent after the top match against arch-rivals PSG. In the second “Le Classique” of the year, they suffered a 5-0 thrashing in Paris, which sealed the fate of coach Roberto De Zerbi. He apologized to the fans after the game, and three days later announced the “end of the collaboration by mutual agreement.”
In the background, Benatia had long been working on De Zerbi’s successor. Sergio Conceicao and Habib Beye were the names being bandied about. The latter was until recently coach at rivals Stade Rennes and is said to have been Benatia’s preferred choice. According to L’Equipe, the two have already met. Benatia and Beye know each other from their playing days: Beye was under contract with Marseille’s professional team between 2003 and 2007, while Benatia played in the youth teams.
It is now completely unclear whether Beye is still the preferred solution for the coaching position at OM following Benatia’s resignation. It is also conceivable that the current interim coach Jacques Abardonado will take over until the end of the season. The 47-year-old Frenchman, who played for 1. FC Nürnberg for six months, already coached the team in their 2-2 draw with Strasbourg last weekend. Given the chaos at Olympique Marseille, a quick decision is unlikely. Abardonado is expected to remain on the sidelines this Friday in Brest.
