Olympique de Marseille's new sports advisor, Medhi Benatia, is out to make his mark, speaking for the first time to Canal +. The former Moroccan international intends to regain control of the squad.
Plunged into a results crisis with no wins in 2024, apart from a 0-1 defeat of amateur Thionville in the Coupe de France, Olympique de Marseille is already preparing for the future. To spearhead this new policy, Pablo Longoria has entrusted the keys to the truck to Medhi Benatia, who has been OM's new sports consultant since November 30, 2023. Silent since his arrival, the former Moroccan central defender has shown his authority by outlining his sporting policy. Trained at OM, he wants to leave his mark on the club, and has no intention of paying any attention to what is being said on the outside, despite OM's complicated season. "I'm not someone who lives with a lot of emotions, to be honest, everyone knows my attachment to the club, I was trained here, I didn't have the chance to help the club as a player in quotation marks, so when Pablo called me it was a natural choice, I'm delighted to be here, when I arrived we were 4 points behind the first relegation zone, I think we've got 10 days to figure out what we're going to have to prepare for at the end of the season, with the return leg of the European Cup, the match against Montpellier and this match tonight. For me, it's a pleasure to be here, I don't let myself be conditioned by everything that's said outside, I try to bring joy to the fans, that's all they deserve," says Medhi Benatia.
Benatia outspoken
Interviewed by Canal +, the sports consultant defined his personality by being frank about what's going on internally at OM. Although aggressive, he played the sincerity card when recounting the facts about Renan Lodi's departure.
"We spoke about it with the president and he said: 'No, we told the coach we weren't going to sell behind so we're not touching it'." Unfortunately, the player found out through his agent that there was this offer. He caught up with the coach after the Thionville game. He said to him: "I've got an offer that's come in, apparently you don't want to accept it, but I'm going to earn 4 times my salary, so you've got to let me go". The coach came to see me and the chairman the next day: 'Guys, he's come to talk to me about money, I'm a coach and I don't like it. I've played him in every game, he's a regular, but if he's got his mind on something else, you've got to let him go," Benatia insists. But the former Moroccan international doesn't stop there, and even attacks one of OM's best players on his behavior. "I arrived in November. I was warned about players whose behavior was sometimes borderline. Jonathan was one of those players. I know he was received in the coach's office to explain what was expected of him as a manager and as a French international in terms of behavior. We thought the message had got through, but unfortunately it didn't".
