Marseille prioritise sporting director as Medhi Benatia exit nears and coaching call looms | OneFootball

Marseille are prioritising a new sporting director before appointing a head coach, with Medhi Benatia to leave on 20 May and a DNCG review set for June.

According to L'Équipe, Stéphane Richard will take office on three July while interim Alban Juster returns to background duties, but OM will be without a sporting director once Benatia departs. He plans a short break, may help close dossiers if asked, then seek another executive role.

The immediate call is the dugout. It seems unlikely Habib Beye, under contract to June 2027, will be retained after mixed results, criticism and Vélodrome unrest in the 1-1 with Nice. He was Benatia’s pick and remains backed by him.

A new sporting director is expected to begin by selecting the coach. Excel’s Aidan O’Brien and Eymeric Moura have assessed Paul Mitchell, though he is tied up elsewhere and viewed as unlikely to be their choice.

The search has also covered French profiles Florent Ghisolfi, Julien Fournier and Grégory Lorenzi, along with candidates from abroad. The hire must blend networks, data, academy development, value creation and trading.

Finances add urgency, with a €105m deficit for 2024-2025 and another red year in 2025-2026. The DNCG will gauge Frank McCourt’s stance and projections shaped by the final table on 17 May, with Marseille currently sixth. Player sales by 30 June could reassure.

Source: L'Équipe