Marseille Part Ways With Manager Roberto de Zerbi 'By Mutual Agreement'

Roberto De Zerbi has left his role as Marseille's manager by mutual consent in the wake of their 5-0 league defeat to Paris Saint-Germain last Sunday.

Their defeat at Parc des Princes was Marseille's third Ligue 1 loss in their last seven matches (W3 D1), as many as in their previous 19 games in the top flight. 

It was a result that left Marseille 12 points behind leaders PSG and fourth in the table, with the club taking action to ensure a place in the Champions League next season. 

The Italian had led Marseille to a second-placed finish in the league in 2024-25 to qualify for UEFA's flagship competition, but they were eliminated at the first hurdle. 

"Olympique de Marseille and Roberto De Zerbi, coach of the first team, have announced the end of their collaboration by mutual agreement," Marseille said in a statement.

"Following discussions between all stakeholders in the club's management – the owner, president, director of football, and coach – it was decided to make a change at the helm of the first team.

"This was a difficult collective decision, taken after careful consideration in the best interests of the club, in order to respond to the sporting challenges of the end of the season."

De Zerbi joined Marseille in June 2024 from Brighton and took charge of 69 matches across all competitions, winning 39 of those encounters (D8 L22). 

Indeed, during his time at the helm, only Luis Enrique's star-studded PSG side (140) scored more Ligue 1 goals than Marseille's 120. 

The early reports on De Zerbi's replacement are suggesting that Habib Beye, who was sacked by Rennes earlier this week, is the leading candidate.