Federico Balzaretti to join Marseille | OneFootball

Federico Balzaretti has cancelled his contract at AS Roma and will join Olympique de Marseille, according to a report from Fabrizio Romano, confirmed by L’Équipe. 

Balzaretti will join OM and will help current sporting director Medhi Benatia in a form of assistant role. Benatia played at Roma with Balzaretti, and the latter will help the former with transfers and scouting. The deal to take the former Italy international to the Vélodrome has already been agreed and the officialisation is just a matter of time. 

Initially a loan manager at Roma, Balzaretti played a prominent role over the summer, constructing a team for new manager Gian Piero Gasperini. However, he now leaves the Serie A side to join his former teammate, who despite Balzaretti’s arrival, remains comitted to Les Phocéens. 

The former Italy international is a French speaker and as he previously revealed in an interview, he once almost joined OM’s fierce rivals, Paris Saint-Germain, when he was a player. 

GFFN | Luke Entwistle