Marseille considered renouncing Europa League participation

Olympique de Marseille considered not participating in this season’s UEFA Europa League in order to prioritise Ligue 1, as per a report from L’Équipe.

Marseille qualified for the Europa League last season, falling short of their objective of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League. That failure had consequences. The decreased revenue meant that their books were closely examined by UEFA who allowed OM to compete in this season’s UEL on the premise that their wage bill was significantly decreased. The constraints imposed saw several key players, such as Mason Greenwood, Facundo Medina, and Geromino Rulli leave.

Despite those sales, Marseille could not register a single signing. As a result, their squad is significantly weaker than it was last season, and under new manager Bruno Genesio, they have endured a difficult start to the season, losing their last three games in Ligue 1. As they prepare to get their Europa League campaign under way against Besiktas, L’Équipe have revealed that Marseille considered renouncing their participation in the competition. Such a decision would have relieved some of the pressure to rectify the financial situation.

After an internal debate, OM decided to honour their qualification for the UEL, however, had the club only qualified for the UEFA Europa Conference League, they would have renounced their participation, L’Équipe adds.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle